James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Missed a Huge Opportunity — but This Is How DC Studios Can Fix It

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Superman’

James Gunn’s new take on Superman is a radical improvement on the previous iteration of the character in the DCEU, largely because David Corenswet’s version of Clark Kent has fully accepted and embraced his human upbringing. While Henry Cavill’s Superman felt like an all-powerful god whom humanity was fearful of, Corenswet’s Clark is an active member of society, which includes being a loyal reporter for the Daily Planet. Although the romance between Clark and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) is undeniably one of the highlights of the film, and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) gets time to shine, Superman missed the opportunity to incorporate the rest of the Daily Planet staff.

To be fair to Gunn, the Daily Planet staffers have far more significance in Superman than they did in either Man of Steel or Superman Returns, as the publication is responsible for releasing a story about Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) that informs their viewers about his malicious intentions. It’s also shown that Lois has some concerns about her journalistic integrity, as she wants to provide honest coverage and feedback on Superman, even if she is romantically involved with Clark. Since the new universe will have many different directions to go in, a spin-off series focused on the Daily Planet staff could add an exciting new chapter to the DCU.

The Daily Planet Staff Are Underutilized in ‘Superman’

Superman worked to define the entire cast of Daily Planet staffers, even if most other versions of the franchise narrowed their focus on Lois. Perry White (Wendell Pierce) is shown to be a responsible, fair-minded editor who takes into consideration what the implications are of covering the ongoing Superman controversy, and Jimmy Olsen is a particularly inventive reporter who uses his relationship with Luthor’s girlfriend, Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio) to score exclusive information about the conspiracy in Boravia. Although it is exciting to see that the Daily Planet staff are actually involved in helping Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) prevent Luthor from opening a black hole that could wreak havoc on Earth, characters like Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett), Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover), and Ron Troupe (Christopher McDonald) are severely underserved. While perhaps a Superman film that is also introducing members of the Justice Gang would have been too overstuffed to give more room to its extended supporting cast, a show about the Daily Planet could give each of them different character arcs.

Superman starts in a different place than other comic book franchises, set in a universe where Earth has already been aware of the concept of “Metahumans” for three decades. It would thus be interesting to see how the staff at the Daily Planet has adapted to covering these situations and developed an understanding of the supernatural and extraterrestrial conflicts that have begun to congeal on Earth. It is already hinted that the Daily Planet has been consistent in its support for Jarhanpur, even if the United States has a military alliance with Boravia, which signifies that it is willing to speak out in controversial political situations. Although the Jarhanpur-Boravian conflict has obvious parallels to an ongoing global situation, Gunn and his team of DCU writers have done a good job at alluding to current events whilst keeping the stories grounded within the continuity of the DC Universe.

‘Superman’ Star, 34, Reveals James Gunn’s Unique Take on the Classic Tale

“You’re going to meet new characters.”

The DCU Needs a Journalistic Perspective

Superman shows the power that the press has to influence important events, as it is Luthor’s appearance on a talk show by a presumably right-wing host (Michael Ian Black) that stokes public distrust of Superman after a revelation about the message that his Kryptonian parents had sent. Even if the public is easily swayed by fearmongering, the Daily Planet plays an important role in exposing Luthor’s scheme, an act that is just as heroic as Superman’s. Given that Superman isn’t the only metahuman in the DCU, it would be interesting to see a Daily Planet series offer a window into other characters that have yet to be established. Characters like Steve and Cat, who are relatively limited in their knowledge of the broader universe, could serve as appropriate audience avatars who are discovering the deeper implications at the same time as the viewers are. A Daily Planet show might also provide an opportunity to include some additional DCU cameos, as the brief appearances by Peacemaker (John Cena) and Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) were among the funniest moments in Superman.

The cast established in Superman could certainly appear in a television show, as Jack Ryan and The Wire have proven that Pierce is more than capable of playing an authoritative figure at the heart of a dramatic series. While Gisondo has also done great television work on The Righteous Gemstones, a Daily Planet series could also introduce a wealth of guest stars and new cast members to play more obscure characters from the source material. Superman has been hailed as a great comic book film because it seems to embrace the inherent weirdness of the source material and does not make an apology for being geeky. While it would be hard to cram an entire history of DC Comics into a Superman sequel, a Daily Planet show could gradually open up audiences to the possibilities of the source material.