Summary
James Gunn’sSupermanwill likely fix a solo movie problem the Man of Steel has had sinceDC’s first live-actionSupermanmovie 47 years earlier.James Gunn’s 2025Supermanmoviewill kick off the new DC Universe alongsideCreature Commandos, and it will prove how different the DCU will be from the defunct DCEU, not only within its plot but also in terms of quality and creativity. Bringing with it a new beginning, James Gunn’sSupermancan establish a more consistent style for all future DC projects to mimic.
Despite his status as DC Comics' biggest star, Superman hasn’t had much luck on the big screen, or at least not as much as Batman. WhileBatman has appeared in thirteen live-action theatrical moviesplayed by eight actors, Superman has only starred (and co-starred) in nine live-action movies, played by three actors so far. Superman’s gallery of villains has gone largely unexplored as well, and only Christopher Reeve’s version of the hero has moved beyond his early superhero career during his solo movies. On top of that,allSupermansolo movies released so farshare one big action problem, which James Gunn’sSupermancould finally fix in 2025.
Superman Movies Have Been Unbalanced In Terms Of Action
Superman’s immense power naturally makes any story starring the Man of Steel a little more difficult to craft than usual. After all, Superman can technically punch his way to victory against most antagonists. Most Superman stories put special focus on the drama to solve this issue. However,almost every live-actionSupermanmovie has overcompensated, severely restraining their action sequences in both scope and duration.Action scenes in Richard Donner’sSupermanmovies were very basic due to the technical limitations of the time, andSuperman Returnshad very few action sequences because it paid homage to the previousSupermanmovies.
Why Richard Donner’s Superman Is Still The Best One (In Movies AND TV)
40+ years later, Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie remains the gold standard filmmakers look to for inspiration when adapting the Man of Steel.
Years later,Man of Steelovercorrected with its action-packed third act, with Superman and Zod destroying most of the DCEU’s Metropolis.The excessive destruction inMan of Steel’s climactic fightearned the film plenty of criticism and raised questions about Superman’s care for collateral damage. To this day, Superman’s apparent carelessness in hisMan of Steelbattles remains one of the 2013 movie’s biggest points of contention. It also stands out due toMan of Steel’s rather slow and emotional first half preceding the infamous Metropolis battle.
What The DCU’s Superman Can Take From James Gunn’s Filmography
James Gunn’s Superhero Projects Have Given Each Action Scene Its Due
James Gunn’sSupermancan avoid the previous Superman movies' action problems and deliver a well-balanced and consistent level of action. Fortunately, Gunn has already proved his talent for directing action scenes in five superhero projects before. TheGuardians of the Galaxymovies are famously lighthearted and comedic, yet their fight scenes are particularly memorable due to their innovative choreography, high-quality VFX, and outstanding soundtrack. For instance,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s opening sequence is a highlight of the movie, andGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s hallway fight raised the bar for high-budget, VFX-heavy long-take fight scenes.
Similarly, Harley Quinn’s prison escape and Peacemaker’s fight against Rick Flag inThe Suicide Squadmake use of visually stunning extradiegetic VFX and creative camerawork, respectively. The former incorporated 2D and 3D animation in live-action to represent what Harley Quinn sees in her mind while she fights, and the latter included a shot ofRick Flag and Peacemaker fighting seen on the reflection of Peacemaker’s helmet, which required very subtle but ambitious CGI and camera movements to hide the camera while showing the action.Peacemakerseason 1 also featured exciting fight scenes that appropriately mixed R-rated comedy with brutal violence.
Each of James Gunn’s action scenes carries a well-defined meaning as well. For instance,Guardians of the Galaxy’s final battle establishes a family bond in the Guardians, and Rick Flag’s death inThe Suicide Squadstarts a quest for redemption in Peacemaker’s journey.
Superman’s Cast Suggests The DCU Movie’s Action Will Be A Focal Point
Superman’s Supporting Characters Are Remarkably Powerful And Have Potential For Exciting Battles
Part of why previous live-actionSupermanmovies haven’t been able to balance action and drama is that Superman has had few villains to fight. Superman would obliterate any human villain like Lex Luthor if he wanted, and asMan of Steelproved, Superman can destroy a whole city trying to defeat his similarly-powered enemies with brute force alone. It seems like James Gunn’sSupermanhas the perfect solution to this problem, asSuperman’s cast features multiple supporting metahumanswho can participate in several fight scenes alongside or against Kal El.
Whenever Lex Luthor isn’t tormenting Superman psychologically, María Gabriela de Faría’s The Engineer can also pose a physical threat to Superman and his superhero allies. The Engineer, Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, Metamorpho, and Guy Gardner are all DC characters who haven’t had the chance to shine on the big screen before. Therefore, any opportunity these supporting metahumans get to showcase their superpowers and abilities in James Gunn’sSupermanwill make for an exciting complement to the first instance of Superman and Lex Luthor’s conflict in the DCU.
