James Gunn has responded to fan concerns about his new Superman movie introducing too many characters, offering a hilarious comparison to a recent Oscar-winning blockbuster. With his film set to launch the new DC Universe, some have worried that including heroes like Green Lantern and Hawkgirl alongside Superman’s traditional supporting cast could lead to a confusing or overstuffed narrative. In a recent interview with Esquire Philippines, Gunn directly addressed this apprehension, confirming that based on his own internal screenings, the extensive cast does not overwhelm the story. To underscore his point, he compared Superman‘s ensemble to Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, a movie celebrated for its quality despite having a famously massive roster of characters.
“I’ve screened the movie for so many people and saw that people aren’t confused,” Gunn stated, pushing back on the idea that the cast size is a problem. “So I know from fact that it’s not confusing.” The concern stems from the fact that Superman will not only introduce the new Man of Steel (David Corenswet), Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), but also a significant number of other established DC heroes. This team, referred to as the Justice Gang, includes Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). Furthermore, Superman also features the hero Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) and the villain The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría), while introducing brand-new characters such as the Hammer of Boravia. For many, this seemed like an ambitious amount of world-building for the very first film in a new cinematic universe.
“We’re used to seeing movies with protagonists and Superman is definitely the protagonist of Superman,” Gunn explained his approach to integrating these figures into Superman’s story. “He has his work friends and he has his play friends. Now, I don’t know if the Justice Gang are his play friends, or his work friends at the Daily Planet are his work friends or his play friends, but that’s the two groups of his friends from different places. And just because they have insignias on their costumes or superpowers doesn’t mean they’re not like any other supporting character in any movie.” Gunn concluded with his sharpest point, delivering a comparison that highlighted the fallacy in assuming a large cast inherently equals a flawed film. “I think Oppenheimer has three times as many speaking roles as we do,” he said. “So I think people are fine.”
Building a Lived-In DCU From Day One
Gunn’s casting strategy for Superman reveals a distinct approach to launching his new DC Universe. Unlike the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which introduced its heroes one by one in largely self-contained solo films before uniting them in The Avengers, Gunn is starting with a world that is already populated and active. The decision to include a pre-existing team of heroes like the Justice Gang from the very first film establishes that superheroes are not a new phenomenon in this reality. This allows the DCU to bypass a lengthy phase of sequential origin stories and dive directly into a more complex world. The fact that Superman (David Corenswet) himself is already an established hero, not a rookie just discovering his powers, further reinforces this concept.
This approach serves a dual purpose. On one hand, it immediately gives the world a sense of history. For instance, the presence of Guy Gardner implies a functional Green Lantern Corps with a history in the cosmos, while the inclusion of The Engineer acts as a direct narrative bridge to the announced The Authority movie. On the other hand, it grounds Superman’s story within a larger community. His “work friends” at the Daily Planet, including Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), and Perry White (Wendell Pierce), represent his connection to humanity, while his super-powered “play friends” show his place within the metahuman world. It’s a strategy designed to create a rich, interconnected, and expansive DCU from its very first chapter, setting it apart from previous cinematic universe models and promising a dynamic future where team-ups and crossovers are the norm, not the exception.
Superman is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 11th.
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