15 Things We Learned From James Gunn on the Set of Superman

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a report from the set of James Gunn’s Superman. This past June, io9 was among several outlets invited to Cleveland, Ohio to visit the set of one of the most highly anticipated superhero films ever. The relaunch of the DC Universe, starring the world’s first and most famous superhero, all from the man who made Guardians of the Galaxy. And on that beautiful summer day, we learned a great many things about the film. And while we can’t share everything we learned just yet, we can share some very, very cool stuff.

In advance of the first trailer for the film this Thursday, we’re allowed to unleash into our on-set interview with Gunn, which took place inside the Daily Planet building. He talked about how the film starts, shooting the action scenes, what music you’ll hear, the costumes, supporting superheroes, the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane, the title change, how the film will tie into the larger DC Universe, and a whole lot more.

Does that sound like something you’d be interested in? Then let’s get to it. Here are 15 things we learned from James Gunn on the set of Superman. Thanks to Warner Bros. for providing travel and lodging.

This film starts in a unique way

We’ve long known that Gunn’s Superman isn’t going to be an origin story but, on set, he explained that the film will start in the middle of an action scene and how long the story will take.

“We just start in the middle of the action,” Gunn said. “Superman already exists. Lois and Clark already know each other. Lex hates Superman’s guts from the beginning, although they don’t know each other personally. So we start right in the middle of the action.”

The story takes place over a short period

After dropping Superman into the action, the main story of the movie will take place over “a short amount of time” Gunn said.

Superman is about legacy but needed a title change

When Gunn’s Superman was first announced, it was called Superman Legacy. However, earlier in 2024 that changed and now it’s just called Superman. Gunn explained why that happened on set and how legacy remains.

“I thought maybe the title had a looking back feeling about it,” he said. “And this isn’t about looking back. This is about looking forward. So although when you see the movie you’ll understand where ‘Legacy’ comes from, because it is about Clark and his relationship to his Kryptonian parents and his relationship to his human parents and whose legacy is he really? And so it’s about that. But I think as a title it felt too ‘looking back.’”

Action scenes were filmed midair

Since Superman can fly, Gunn wanted there to be incredible action not just on the ground, but in the air too. To do so, they took inspiration from some very cool movies and pushed other technologies forward.

“Being able to shoot stuff in the sky… is really hard. So we took a lot from films like Top Gun: Maverick,” Gunn said. “We shoot a lot of our action with actual drones flying in and around Superman and the people that he’s flying with, The Engineer and whoever else that he’s fighting up in the air. And we did that on sound stages. We got these really small, crazy drones now. We’ve got some of the best flyers in the world here who are working with it.”

It’ll be more serious than Guardians of the Galaxy

While Gunn’s previous superhero films have leaned more heavily into comedy, that wasn’t the tone he was going for with Superman.

“I start with a place that’s very hopeful, fun… but incredibly grounded [and] incredibly serious all at the same time,” he said. “It’s humorous, but it certainly is not as [comedic] as either Suicide Squad or Guardians. There’s plenty of humor in it. People like Rachel [Brosnahan, who plays Lois Lane] are so funny and David [Corenswet, who plays Superman] is very [funny as well], so there’s humor in it, but it’s trying to create something that is grounded, but also it’s an incredibly fanciful world. It’s fantasy, it’s taking from other things like Game of Thrones where it’s this universe where superheroes actually exist. What are they like? There’s a magic there that’s undeniable.”

The movie is score-driven, not song-driven (plus John Williams)

Gunn’s regular composer, John Murphy, is doing the score for Superman and Gunn confirmed that the film will be much more orchestral-driven than his Guardians of the Galaxy movies. But when you think of Superman and music, you only think of one person and yes, he’s in there.

“There’s nods to [John] Williams and then also John Murphy’s created this incredibly beautiful score,” Gunn said. “But the one thing is it is a score, it’s not a soundtrack. So it’s not about the songs. There’s a few songs in it. And of course, I chose those songs beforehand, but it isn’t like any of my previous movies really in terms of the score is what drives it. It’s a much, much more of a score film.”

Superman wears trunks for a good reason

When Superman’s suit was revealed, many discussions were had over the decision to give him trunks. That was not a choice Zack Snyder made and while Gunn and his team went back and forth, he had a very good reason for the decision. And it came from Superman himself.

“We were trying on all these different versions, and we screened tested with trunks and no trunks,” Gunn explained. “And one of the things David said is that Superman wants kids to not be afraid of him. He’s an alien. He’s got these incredible powers. He shoots beams out of his eyes… He’s this incredibly powerful, could be considered scary, individual and he wants people to like him. He wants to be a symbol of hope and positivity. So he dresses like a professional wrestler. He dresses in a way that makes people unafraid of him, that shows that hope that shows that positivity. And that really clicked in for me. And I think trying to pretend that Superman’s costume doesn’t have some frivolity to it at its base, trying to make it look serious, is silly because he is a superhero. He’s the first one, brightly colored and that’s who he is.”

Mister Terrific is crucial

One of the many things that makes Gunn’s Superman different is that it’ll have other superheroes in it such as Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion). Among those, Gunn says Mister Terrific (For All Mankind‘s Edi Gathegi) is the leader.

“I love Mister Terrific,” Gunn said. “These characters all get their moment in the sun. They all have their moments. They’re not just cameos, these are the characters. They’re supporting cast, but Mister Terrific is the main character of those characters. He actually has a big part of the plot. And so that was fun.”

Lex Luthor is almost a sorcerer

Not literally. But in Gunn’s mind, his version of Lex Luthor is so smart, it makes him feel that way.

“All-Star Superman… influenced me more than anything,” Gunn said. “Being able to take that sort of Silver Age feel, that sort of science fiction approach to it with gadgets, Lex is really a sort of sorcerer in a way. He’s a scientist, but he’s so good at science and I think of him as like a sorcerer.

We’ve never seen a Clark and Lois relationship like this

Gunn hesitated to say it, but he said it. When talking about the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane in the film, he said “I don’t think it’s something we’ve ever seen in any superhero movie ever.” He then elaborated.

“It’s a complicated relationship and we really get into it,” Gunn said. “There’s long scenes that are about their relationship and the way they relate and what it would be like for a person who’s this incredibly intelligent, strong-headed, stubborn, skeptical journalist, to have a relationship with someone who can lift a skyscraper.”

Lois probably doesn’t know

Jumping off the question of Lois and Clark’s relationship, Gunn was asked if Lois knew Clark was Superman. “Well, we’ll see,” he said, “She knows who Superman is.”

Superman is largely a standalone

Since Superman is the first film in the new DC Universe, it will be a largely standalone affair. And, Gunn thinks, that will be how most of the DC films are for the foreseeable future.

“Everything needs to stand by itself,” he said. “I don’t want somebody to have to go see this movie and be relying on anything else. Now listen, once we get down the line, that may change a little bit.”

He continued, “Are seeds being planted? Yes, there’s seeds being planted, but that is never going to be the predominant thing in any scene for me. It’s always about getting to the next scene. What’s in the moment? How are we making this movie the best we can be? And it’s going to stay like that as much as I can possibly make it like that.”

One upcoming DC property does get set up

Gunn confirmed that the events of Superman will impact Peacemaker season two and that, maybe, there will be one or two things at the end of this film teasing toward the future, but admitted they might get cut.

Not many people know the real Superman

While talking about casting, Gunn said that he needed an actor who could play both Clark Kent well and Superman well because that duality is the core of the character.

“It’s not just Clark. It’s not just Superman. It’s Clark/Superman,” Gunn said. “And the only people that know Clark/Superman are his mom and his dad and a few others who know who he is, and those are very different things. People say all sorts of different things. They say, ‘Clark’s the real one.’ They say, ‘Superman’s the real one and Clark’s the secret identity.’ But I don’t—and it says it in my script on the second page—I don’t believe either of those things. I don’t think anybody knows Superman unless they know both of him. And when they know both of him, they know the real guy.

It’s all riding on this

When we spoke with Gunn on the set of Superman, a year from release, he was pretty overwhelmed for a lot of reasons. “I’m miserable,” he said. “Really I’m miserable. But hopefully it’s for the greater good.”

One of the reasons for that seemed to be the pressure he’s putting on himself to make sure his version of Superman is great because if it’s not, there’s no guarantee we’ll see more DC movies after that. There’s a plan, one that involves Creature Commandos, Peacemaker, Supergirl, and others, but if Superman doesn’t work, well, things could change very quickly. “A lot [is riding on Superman]” he said. “I mean, We’re not going to just keep making movies.” That is, unless Superman is great.

See the first trailer for Superman Thursday and check back in 2025 for the rest of our report from the Cleveland set of the film.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.