Unless you’ve been living under a rock avoiding all social media rumblings about comic book movies, you’ll be extremely aware that DC Studios and James Gunn’s Superman movie, starring David Corenswet, releases this week. While the film is already receiving mostly rave reviews, is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and is projected to make at least $200 million globally on its opening weekend, its director revealed that he was approached to create a Supes film seven years ago but turned it down.
Speaking at a Q&A at the HMV Store London (as reported by ComicBook.com), Gunn revealed that he was originally approached to direct a Superman film for DC back in 2018.
“I was originally offered to direct Superman back in 2018, and I said no,” Gunn said. “I was daunted by the task. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it. Also, if you remember, there was other stuff happening with Superman at the time.”
As GamesRadar+ notes, the aforementioned “stuff happening” was Henry Cavill’s Superman making a post-credits scene cameo in Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam movie. At the time, Cavill’s cameo teased more from his iteration of the Kryptonian we all know never came to pass, as DC has all but rebooted itself, leaving few icons in its wake outside of fellow WWE superstar John Cena’s Peacemaker.
“They didn’t want it to be… It was going to be politically messy,” Gunn said. “So I said no, and I took The Suicide Squad, which was more a familiar type of group to me. Which I’m glad I did, that was fun.”
While Gunn’s comments could be misconstrued, considering Fox News’ dubbing the forthcoming film “Superwoke” for its immigrant story (a thematic point that shouldn’t come as a surprise with the character’s longstanding legacy), Gunn is likely referencing the period when Marvel ousted him after conservative activists resurfaced old, problematic tweets from the director. The incident was sparked by Gunn’s own political commentary about the Trump administration, which prompted a response from Marvel’s owners, Walt Disney Studios, leading to his immediate termination and severance of his partnership with the company.
In the aftermath, DC hired Gunn to direct The Suicide Squad; after a return to Marvel to wrap up the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, DC then tapped him to head up DC Studios alongside producer Peter Safran. Despite initially turning down DC’s Superman pitch, Gunn revealed that he’s had the idea of directing a Man of Steel movie in the back of his mind ever since.
“But I kept thinking about Superman, I couldn’t get it out of my head,” Gunn said. “How would I do it, if I did it? What would that movie be like? How could I make it work for today’s audience? How could it speak to people? And eventually, [I] started to think that maybe it was maybe something I could do. So, when they reapproached me with the idea for writing Superman, whatever it was, three years ago, I said yes.”
This brings us to today, where critics largely agree Gunn delivered a win for DC Studios with a Superman movie that emphasizes “truth and justice” and hope rather than solely focusing on “the American way.”
In io9’s review for Superman, we said, “this Superman movie somehow both feels like a big deal and also a breezy, popcorn blockbuster. It’s a delight, and if this truly is the beginning of a brand-new DC Universe, it’s in good hands both behind the camera and in front of it.”
Superman releases July 11.