How the first look at James Gunn's Man of Steel is filled with promise for superheroic stortelling.
Is it a bird? Or a plane? Or does James Gunn's Superman have the potential to be an amazing comic book movie?
As we've mentioned before, Superman as a character is tricky to adapt. We've also been pretty doom and gloom about the state of comic book movies as a whole, pondering if there will ever be a film that is satisfying to audiences that truly captures the essence of what makes comic books so great and fun. It's not that we haven't had amazing comic book movies, but it was starting to feel like the farther away we got from what we expected in "movie" storytelling versus what is par for the course in traditional "comic book" storytelling.
Well, if the first two minutes and 20 seconds we've seen of James Gunn's Superman are an accurate indication of the final feature arriving July 11, 2025, then we're about to see some good-golly proficiently adapted comic book storytelling in film, my friends.
Let's break down why the Superman trailer is bleeding with hope for the future of comic book storytelling on the big screen.
James Gunn is Free to Play
James Gunn is four for four in his adapted characterizations of superheroes with Guardians of the Galaxy, Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and, most recently, Creature Commandos (with an honorable mention to Super). That being said, he's been slightly constrained in his earlier group outings within the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe model of storytelling, as well as fitting Suicide Squad within the framework of the crumbling DCEU of the Snyder days. Although he started to get some wiggle room in Peacemaker and Creature Commandos, these are both obscure windows into comic book storytelling bottled on Max's streaming service, not given the proper blockbuster treatment.
Now that's about to change, peeps.
Look, it's only a trailer, and trailers have let us down plenty. But if Gunn's track record is any indication of his talent and love of comic book characters, as well as the fact that he has no one and no outward confines to answer to, we're about to get a full-throttle take on everything he's been working toward for years—full cap(e). He's not only going to take one of DC's big three Trinity characters and tell a full-throttle comic book story, he's going to start an entire new era of comic book storytelling where we don't have to worry about cameos and origin stories. we're just in it.
Per Variety from a press preview at Warner Bros. Studios, Gunn also notes:
“Superhero movies have taken these characters and said, ‘Okay, it’s Batman [or] it’s Superman, but it’s not any of the other stuff,’” Gunn said. “We’re embracing all of the Superman mythology. He has friends who are other superheroes. He has people he doesn’t get along as well with who are other superheroes. He has a lot of the things that we love from the Superman comics that we haven’t been able to see as much of in filmed media, and definitely haven’t been able to see in a grounded way, which is what I hope we’ve created.”
If that quote, and today's trailer, are any indication, there's a lot of hope. This trailer is literally bleeding with hope.
Origin Stories Are Over
David Corenswet as Superman
via DC and Warner Bros. trailer screenshot
We all know how Superman became Superman. He dropped on a farm from the sky when his planet was dying, and Mom and Dad wanted to give him a fighting chance. He was raised by a quaint family that taught him the importance of humanism and humanity. He becomes a reporter and kisses Lois Lane.
We've seen it for hours in TV and movies. There's 217 episodes of a (very good) show about it. Now, we get a new Superman who is Superman. The first peak at David Corenswet's iteration in a fully formed Superman, that has his own style while also honoring the Supermen that came before him. He's also in an established world where he's not the only superhero, or villain, which I am ecstatically excited about.
Let's explore that a bit more.
Krypto, Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, and Metamorpho, Oh My.
Krypto, the Superdog heroically saving David Corenswet's Superman
via DC and Warner Bros. trailer screenshot
This was recently announced and teased, so it's not news, but this is our first look at the stacked cast of characters Gunn's Superman has in store.
Some of these characters are obvious—we get Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor and Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane, and both feel so right. That's obvious. But the star of the show? Mother freaking Krypto the Superdog, saving a battered Superman as the backdrop of the trailer. That's objectively cool all on its own.
But then, oh my gosh, we get so much more. We get our first look at Guy Gardner Green lantern, we get Hawkgirl, we get Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Kelex, a giant unnamed space monster terrorizing Metropolis. If you've never heard of some of these characters, that's totally fair—some of these are deep cuts only nerds like me are excited about. But, oh (super)man, we should be excited. Not only are these characters all very cool, the fact that there featured here in the trailer front and center means Gunn isn't playing around. These aren't just going to be cameos and fan service, these are going to be full-fledged characters, a supporting cast of currently unintroduced comic book characters that don't need their own movie or TV show to be introduced.
If this is true and I'm not setting myself and our readers up for disappointment, this is a massive step forward for the status quo of comic book storytelling on the big screen. See, in comic books, especially the modern age of comic books, superheroes simply exist among each other. They interact, affect each other's stories, and shuffle in and out for the purpose of the story. Comic books are a glorious sandbox of rich mythology, and all accolades to Marvel for setting that stage on a bigger level, but—if this trailer and Gunn's track record are any accurate representation of the feature length Superman—comic book movies are about to change forever.
And, hey, for a nerd like me, that's a huge sign of hope for blockbuster storytelling at large.
James Gunn is four for four in his adapted characterizations of superheroes with Guardians of the Galaxy, Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and, most recently, Creature Commandos (with an honorable mention to Super). That being said, he's been slightly constrained in his earlier group outings within the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe model of storytelling, as well as fitting Suicide Squad within the framework of the crumbling DCEU of the Snyder days. Although he started to get some wiggle room in Peacemaker and Creature Commandos, these are both obscure windows into comic book storytelling bottled on Max's streaming service, not given the proper blockbuster treatment.
Now that's about to change, peeps.
Look, it's only a trailer, and trailers have let us down plenty. But if Gunn's track record is any indication of his talent and love of comic book characters, as well as the fact that he has no one and no outward confines to answer to, we're about to get a full-throttle take on everything he's been working toward for years—full cap(e). He's not only going to take one of DC's big three Trinity characters and tell a full-throttle comic book story, he's going to start an entire new era of comic book storytelling where we don't have to worry about cameos and origin stories. we're just in it.
Per Variety from a press preview at Warner Bros. Studios, Gunn also notes:
If that quote, and today's trailer, are any indication, there's a lot of hope. This trailer is literally bleeding with hope.
David Corenswet as Superman
via DC and Warner Bros. trailer screenshot
We all know how Superman became Superman. He dropped on a farm from the sky when his planet was dying, and Mom and Dad wanted to give him a fighting chance. He was raised by a quaint family that taught him the importance of humanism and humanity. He becomes a reporter and kisses Lois Lane.
We've seen it for hours in TV and movies. There's 217 episodes of a (very good) show about it. Now, we get a new Superman who is Superman. The first peak at David Corenswet's iteration in a fully formed Superman, that has his own style while also honoring the Supermen that came before him. He's also in an established world where he's not the only superhero, or villain, which I am ecstatically excited about.
Let's explore that a bit more.
Krypto, the Superdog heroically saving David Corenswet's Superman
via DC and Warner Bros. trailer screenshot
This was recently announced and teased, so it's not news, but this is our first look at the stacked cast of characters Gunn's Superman has in store.
Some of these characters are obvious—we get Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor and Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane, and both feel so right. That's obvious. But the star of the show? Mother freaking Krypto the Superdog, saving a battered Superman as the backdrop of the trailer. That's objectively cool all on its own.
But then, oh my gosh, we get so much more. We get our first look at Guy Gardner Green lantern, we get Hawkgirl, we get Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Kelex, a giant unnamed space monster terrorizing Metropolis. If you've never heard of some of these characters, that's totally fair—some of these are deep cuts only nerds like me are excited about. But, oh (super)man, we should be excited. Not only are these characters all very cool, the fact that there featured here in the trailer front and center means Gunn isn't playing around. These aren't just going to be cameos and fan service, these are going to be full-fledged characters, a supporting cast of currently unintroduced comic book characters that don't need their own movie or TV show to be introduced.
If this is true and I'm not setting myself and our readers up for disappointment, this is a massive step forward for the status quo of comic book storytelling on the big screen. See, in comic books, especially the modern age of comic books, superheroes simply exist among each other. They interact, affect each other's stories, and shuffle in and out for the purpose of the story. Comic books are a glorious sandbox of rich mythology, and all accolades to Marvel for setting that stage on a bigger level, but—if this trailer and Gunn's track record are any accurate representation of the feature length Superman—comic book movies are about to change forever.
And, hey, for a nerd like me, that's a huge sign of hope for blockbuster storytelling at large.
I hope you're as excited about this trailer as I am, but if not, that's cool too. We still must wait until July 11 next year to see if all this hype will live up to its red cape and blue spandex trousers.
Or as writer-director Jane Schoenbrun puts it via Twitter: "I READ THE TV GLOW"
Fans of Jane Schoenbrun's vibey, tragic Sundance hit I Saw the TV Glow are in for a treat. Thanks to Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series, you can now read and download Schoenbrun's beautiful screenplay for free from your home, favorite coffee shop, are anywhere else with WiFi that you love downloading your favorite PDFs from.
I Saw the TV Glow is a special, unique movie that's loaded to the brim with deep metaphors and striking visuals, some of which are horrific. Whether it's the eerie site of the show-within-the-movie Pink Opaque's villains—the ice cream cone-headed Mr. Melancholy, for instance—or Justice Smith's Owen physically deteriorating throughout his life from repressing his sexual identity, I Saw The TV Glow takes the eerie tone she established in her debut feature We're All Going to the World's Fair and cranks it to 11.
For aspiring screenwriters, this is an especially cool and useful script to read. Ever wondered how to format for the passage of time? What about queuing a reader for a fantasy reality versus the bleak reality we live in? How do you describe a monster with an ice cream cone for a head? The screenplay for I Saw the TV Glow can answer all of these questions and many more. From a writing perspective, I Saw the TV Glow is also dense with visual and contextual metaphors and might be my favorite script of the year.
I particularly related to the idea of being quiet and shy and not feeling comfortable in my skin growing up. The deeper meaning here is a metaphor for trans people repressing their identity—an especially important topic in our modern culture—but I think Owen is relatable in many universal ways for anyone who's had to withhold their true identity. A movie creatively tackling that is pretty cool. I Saw the TV Glow is also near and dear to my heart within its minutiae, with bit parts and cameos from some of my favorite working artists, like Connor O'Malley and Phoebe Bridgers.
Throw in a fake show that alludes to Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and Twin Peaks, on top of a banger soundtrack? Sign me up forever.
Crank up "Claw Machine" and check out the screenplay below!
Click the link above to check out the read and/or download the screenplay. We've also saved you the trouble of finding Sloppy Jane's total banger, "Claw Machine," and included the music video above. We'd recommend rocking the entire soundtrack while you read, but you do you.
Either way, please do enjoy.
Any new insights you caught reading I Saw the TV Glow you didn't catch in the movie? Let us know in the comments.
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