Over the last several months James Gunn has released several updates and images talking about his Superman that hits theaters next summer. Some of the recent updates he’s released have gotten me a bit worried about the film’s box office and its tone. Let’s talk about it!
My Overall Excitement: I know I just said things have gotten me a bit worried about the film. To be perfectly clear, I’m still very excited for this movie. I trust James Gunn and I think there's a lot about this movie to get excited about. We know this is the first movie in the DCU, so there’s a lot of excitement and curiosity surrounding that. Superman is one of DC’s best heroes and we haven’t gotten a standalone Superman movie since Man of Steel. There’s some excitement for me about getting a more hopeful Superman, while I really like Man of Steel and some of the ideas that Zack Snyder had with Superman. I like that Gunn is doing something very different and crafting a more tried and true Superman movie. This version of Superman is meant to be our gateway into the DCU, he’s our point of view character. That sounds very cool, I think that’s an interesting angle of Superman. You have a populated universe of DC characters, with characters like Batman already established but Superman is the new superhero, that’s clever and interesting. BUT, there are sides of me that have me worried based on what images Gunn has released about it that do make me a bit worried about the film’s reception and box office.
What Images?: So far, James Gunn has only released two official images for the film. The first one was a look at the Superman suit. It’s a photo that people were criticizing on the internet, because there’s an explosion of sorts going on outside but it’s just Superman putting on his boots. We do know that underpants are on the outside, that worked in Christopher Reeves’ era does that work in 2024 with the genre matured since then. If I was in charge of the Superman, I don’t know if I would have had the underpants on the outside, it worked in a time period but not know. Then last week we got an image that confirmed that Krypto is in the movie. Krypto has appeared in several tv shows, but we’ve never seen Krypto in a live action movie. On the one hand, I appreciate the comic booky aspect that Gunn is going for, but is he going to far. Having a dog with superpowers sounds like something that would work in comic books and animation, but in live action that’s harder to do. I’m not saying that as any criticisms or concerns that I have personally, but they’re concerns that I have that could lead to the general thoughts on the film and the box office.
Why Would This Hurt It?
- Superman is one of DC’s two most iconic characters, him and Batman are the titans of the DC universe. Both have had movies that are incredibly important to the genre. Superman is arguably the most iconic superhero of all time, people can debate that all day long. Superman and his powers, his origin story, his symbol and infused in popular culture. So much so that there’s a trope of the evil Superman, recently in Invincible and The Boys. Superman has made many different variations of the years. Of course, Christopher Reeves’ was the original that helped kick start this entire genre. Brandon Routh was playing Superman that was both a continuation of Reeves but also a reboot of sorts. Most recently, Henry Cavill dawned the cape for years in the DCEU. People have polarizing thoughts on the movies, but people like Cavill as the character.
- I’m talking about all of this, because Superman is multigenerational and therefore different people want different things from Superman. The people that grew up with Christopher Reeves’ they had a more traditional and classic Superman. He was the aw shucks Superman that was a symbol of hope. Rewatching that film now, it’s very interesting to see just how different that movie is compared to other films of the genre now. The people that grew up with a hopeful Superman were very thrown off by Man of Steel. That’s why it has 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, people have absolutely come around on liking that movie. If critics could go back and re-submit reviews, I would bet that score would be higher. People didn’t like Snyder’s darker take on the character, he’s not a hopeful character. He’s very much deconstructing Superman and seeing how a figure like that is perceived by society. That’s an interesting take on the character, but because it goes against what people expected, people didn’t like. BUT, there’s people that do love Man of Steel (I’m not talking about The Snyder Cult), but people that maybe weren’t old enough to watch Reeves’ movies in the theater or when they first hit VHS. Man of Steel could have been their first exposure to Superman, therefore they like the darker more mature take on the character. Therefore, can you go back and watch Superman the Movie (1978) and just see a campy goofy take on the character, more comic accurate but comic accurate for the time.
- If the first official images we have of the movie are Superman putting on his boots with the underwear on the outside and Superman with his dog, it looks very campy which can turn people away and not wanting to see the movie. Beyond that, set photos have been leaked for the film. Superman’s costume is very bright and colorful. It’s representing Christopher Reeves’ suit then it is Henry Cavill’s suit. Once again, people that don’t like Superman the Movie, because maybe it hasn’t aged the best see these set photos and are turned off by them.
- Therefore, I think this movie’s box office could hurt a bit. One of the common criticisms of modern day comic book movies, they’re too goofy. This really started with Thor: Love and Thunder, most people thought that movie went too far. Ragnarok was goofy, but still able to find heart and emotion there. Love and Thunder felt too much like a parody of Thor and not the same Thor that we saw in past movies. The Marvels bombed at the box office, a large percentage of that probably does factor into it being goofy. Them marketing the movie based on the goofy hijinks. Based on the photos, Superman (2025) looks a bit goofy, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think it’s perfectly fine that James Gunn wants to do more of a comic booky take on the character. But with the trailers they need to find a way to show the comic booky side of the character while also showing some of the emotions of the film, show the film’s hearts. I think if Gunn can find the right balance between Christopher Reeves’ Superman and Henry Cavill’s Superman, this could be very cool. I wouldn’t be surprised if the movie compliments both sides of what Superman fans want. If this movie can deliver a comic book Superman, but have the mature themes to make Man of Steel fans happy, this movie can make both sides happy. But if it leans too much to being too goofy and campy, the box office could be down and the reviews might not be great.
- Once again, I’m still very excited for this movie. I haven’t made my list of the my most anticipated films of 2025. This is certainly a top 10 most anticipated for the year, maybe even top five. What I’m talking about in this blog post, aren’t concerns I have for the movie. But I think they’re concerns that people need to have for the film’s reviews and box office numbers.
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