James Gunn has unveiled the first Superman trailer and, uh… is it just us or is there a lot going on here? Some thoughts on the trailer for DC’s next blockbuster.
After what seems like forever, we finally have our first proper teaser trailer for Superman. Ever since James Gunn, the current co-CEO of DC Studios, announced he was making a Superman film, we’ve been waiting more or less patiently for the first moving images.
That day is finally here. It’s clearly a big deal for DC Studios; the studio posted a teaser trailer for today’s teaser trailer yesterday and there was a countdown and everything to get audiences hyped. When did trailers become this big?
Regardless, take a look at the teaser below.
For this iteration of the classic DC Comics hero, David Corenswet is putting on the red pants and he certainly looks the part. It also seems that this version of the hero can definitely bleed as we watch him crash into a snowy landscape and get dragged to safety by his canine companion, Krypto. Gunn is clearly going down a different route from former DC overlord Zack Snyder with his Superman films, Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, the latter of which is better left in the deepest layers of our memory.
At two minutes and 19 seconds, Gunn’s is a long teaser, but that’s not my main concern. It seems, at least from the snippets here, that Gunn has made more of a team-up movie than a Superman solo film. The trailer gives us sneak peeks of Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific and Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern as well as Nicholas Hoult’s big bad, Lex Luthor. There’s also the aforementioned Krypto the (CGI) dog and Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane.
Then there’s Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Terence Rosemore as Otis, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonathan Kent, Neva Howell as Martha Kent, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, Christopher McDonald as Ron Troupe, and Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher.
This article will continue once we catch our breath after listing half of Hollywood above.
That’s a lot of people for a film that’s supposed to introduce us to Gunn’s version of this character and act as DC Studios’ big opening film. Gunn is clearly more drawn to the dynamics of an ensemble, as is evident from his Guardians Of The Galaxy films, The Suicide Squad and even his earlier offerings such as Zack Snyder’s Dawn Of The Dead (for which he wrote the script) and his directorial debut, the antic horror, Slither. The man also wrote Scooby-Doo, so we’re in good hands, right?
All of the characters mentioned above are well-known Superman friends and foes, but it seems a little early to introduce so many characters into a film that’s hopefully starting a whole new franchise for DC Studios and Warner Bros. Gunn spoke to Vanity Fair about the trailer, explaining that Superman would take a different approach to the films that limited their superhero to solo missions.
“…in our [film], he lives in a world with superheroes. He has friends who are other superheroes. He has people he doesn’t get along with who are other superheroes,” Gunn told the outlet.
“That’s not what I want from a Superman movie,” my partner, a massive comic book fan, sighed after the trailer ended and we were trying to figure out who was who in the trailer. Superman is a difficult character to nail on the big screen as it is, as the character’s innate goodness can come across as bland and, frankly, not particularly dramatic. With this many supporting characters, there might be a chance he disappears into the background of his own film.
After the trailer, I have more questions than answers. Are we being cheated out of a Superman solo film? Are we in for a secret team-up movie? In all honesty, Gunn has never let me down and I personally think he’s a talented, skilled filmmaker. I remain excited for Superman, but the new trailer has planted a small seed of doubt.
