Summary
- Collider’s Perri Nemiroff chats with writer-director James Gunn for Superman.
- In this interview, Gunn talks about his unique take on Superman, focusing on a different aspect of Clark’s life and emotional arc.
- Gunn also shares how this project is a wholly different experience from his time at Marvel Studios, what he learned from Kevin Feige, and more.
Before the highly anticipated Superman flies into theaters, Collider’s Perri Nemiroff had the opportunity to speak with writer-director James Gunn about what it is that makes his take on the superhero truly soar.
Debuting David Corenswet as Clark Kent and the eponymous Kryptonian, Gunn’s Superman is the first feature to launch the new DC Universe (DCU) after stepping in as co-CEO of DC Studios and wiping the superhero slate clean. The movie allows audiences to drop into a fully realized universe, dodging the many on-screen origin stories we’ve seen before by “focusing on a part of Clark’s life that we don’t normally focus on.”
During this interview, Gunn discusses how his filmmaking style for finding unique angles into a story allowed them to explore Superman and Lois Lane’s (Rachel Brosnahan) early relationship, and a “pretty rare” emotional arc. Gunn also talks about how his personal love for animals influences his storytelling, what lessons he took from his time with Kevin Feige at Marvel Studios, and how Daredevil‘s Drew Goddard changed the ending of Superman for the better.
James Gunn’s Signature Style Introduces a Whole New Take on Superman
“I think that serves Superman perfectly.”
PERRI NEMIROFF: Can you tell me something about how you feel about your signature style that you thought well suited a Superman movie, but then also something about the character that called for it to evolve and maybe add another layer to it?
JAMES GUNN: Listen, I definitely am led by emotion. I think that emotion is always the thing that is the most important, and I love action. I’m not your average director because I don’t think there’s anybody that is more emotional but also really loves action. So, those two things kind of fit together in a strange way, where I think that serves Superman perfectly because he is this very warm, open, loving, good, kind guy. He’s more in touch with his feelings than other characters I’ve worked with. But at the same time, I get to play with all the toys and do all the fun stuff that I like doing. Building an action scene is like doing a puzzle.
I feel like your signature style is taking a puzzle, smashing it to bits, and rearranging it in a way that I never knew I needed.
GUNN: [Laughs] I see what you’re saying. I think that the other thing is kind of like trying to come at something from a different point. Taking iconic characters, or with genres such as space fantasy with the Guardians, but with this one taking iconic characters and saying, “Where can I come at these characters from a different direction than has really been come at from other media?” So, we’re focusing on a part of Clark’s life that we don’t normally focus on, which is when he and Lois are first dating, when she’s not even sure she wants to go any further. We’re also seeing an emotional and personal story about Clark, which is pretty rare. He’s not a haunted guy, but in this movie, he does come to some new awarenesses that threaten how he views himself, and that’s difficult for him emotionally. That’s the core of the story. So, I think it’s just focusing on those little pieces that don’t in any way go against what Superman is or has meant in the past. It’s just looking at a new piece of it.
Related
Gunn talks about how ‘Superman’ is unlike anything he’s done before and how picking his Clark and Lois was his greatest moment in filmmaking.
James Gunn’s Childhood Best Friend Is a Major Influence on This ‘Superman’ Character
“I love animals more than I love movies.”
While I was thinking about things that I feel contribute to your signature style, admittedly, this might be a reach, but it’s something that I’ve always felt in your work, and also admired about you behind the scenes; it’s the fact that you’re an animal lover. Obviously, there’s the one-to-one connection with Krypto here, but more broadly, do you feel the fact that you are someone who treats your pets like family influences your work as a filmmaker?
GUNN: Oh, for sure. Listen, I love animals. I love animals more than I love movies, so being able to create animal characters that people fall in love with and then hopefully kind of see their own animals. I mean, Krypto’s a bad dog. He’s a terrible dog, and a lot of people have pretty naughty dogs. So, I think maybe that brings people a little bit closer with their pets. But I was raised, before I had brothers and sisters, I had a sister who was a dog. She was my best friend. Her name was Shawnee, and we were best friends until we were both 14. I feel like I’m partially imprinted on animals. I understand them in some ways more than I understand humans.
There’s something about that mindset that always clicks with me, and I feel it in your movies, and I love it.
James Gunn Reveals What He Learned From Kevin Feige at Marvel Studios
“I am the studio and I’m the director.”
You directed this movie. You’re obviously going on to shepherd many more movies in the new DC film franchise. Is there any new way that you’re approaching supporting future directors that is influenced by your experience directing this movie, something that you are striving to do for them based on how you felt directing Superman?
GUNN: That’s a tough one, Perri, because I find most of the influences come from before, when I’ve had other people sort of shepherding my films and trying to support my films. Kevin Feige was actually a really great model for me in that way. He let me do my thing, but he also was really honest with what he thought, and he never stopped trying to make a movie better up until the very last minute. So, that really affected me.
In terms of making Superman, it’s just such a different experience because I am the studio and I’m the director. So, I try to make other people become the studio for me, if that makes sense. I really go to Peter Safran and Chantal Nong, and other directors. I showed this to Drew Goddard and Jason Reitman, and Damon Lindelof, and all these people to get their input on what works and what doesn’t, and they were so helpful. I want to be able to support people, but also be really honest. I don’t pull punches. I’m really blunt. I think we need to come from the common space that we’re just trying to make the best movie possible without ego being a part of it.
To follow up on that briefly, is there a key piece of feedback or advice that any of those people you just name-dropped gave to you that heavily influenced the finished product here?
GUNN: Yeah. I would say probably Drew Goddard was really helpful. There were a couple of little things in the movie that we had, like three or four things, that we really argued about in the film. All of them had to do with things that were a little bit darker or a little bit lighter. And in discussing one of them, Drew Goddard was like, “You know what? It’s just not that film. It’s not that film with this little dark ending bit.” And I thought, “You know what? He’s right. It’s not that film. It is not that film.” And so, that line that he said stuck with me for the rest of editing.
Superman flies into theaters on July 11.
