Even though James Gunn has been in the filmmaking business for a very long time, his filmography, which has been mostly superhero-related, actually isn’t that long. Still, James Gunn, who Peter Safran called “the greatest superhero filmmaker of our generation”, says the DCU’s Superman, starring David Corenswet as the new Man of Steel, is his very first superhero movie.
While chatting with IGN about Superman (2025), Gunn said, “One of the interesting things to me is I don’t think I’ve ever really made a superhero movie. I’m thought of as the guy who makes superhero movies, right? But when you think about it, Super is not really… he’s a guy wearing a costume that’s beating people up with a wrench. He’s not really a superhero. Then I made, you know, the Guardians movies. They’re space adventurers. Then I made The Suicide Squad. They’re supervillains. Peacemaker is a crazy man. And then, uh, you know, Superman is the first superhero movie I’ve ever made.”
Wait, the guy who made Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and a film literally called Super, doesn’t think he’s made a superhero movie until now? If you’re confused, you’re not alone. I guess what Gunn is trying to say is that Superman is the first film he has made where the main character is a powerful superhero and not a band of idiots.
Yes, technically, Super (2010), starring Rainn Wilson as a wrench-wielding vigilante named Crimson Bolt, isn’t a typical superhero film. But it definitely gives off comedic Batman vibes. Heck, the character even has a catchphrase: “Shut up, crime!”
And in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, Star-Lord, who finds out his dad is a literal sentient planet, goes from a mixtape-loving space pirate to a being who can survive in space. And if Rocket and Groot aren’t superheroes, then what the heck are they?
Then there’s The Suicide Squad, a full-blown bloodbath of DC supervillains doing very superheroic things. Bloodsport, Ratcatcher 2, Polka-Dot Man… all wielding strange powers to save the world from a giant alien starfish. Yeah, they’re not role models, but they definitely are characters in a superhero movie.
So why does Superman feel different for Gunn? Maybe it’s because Clark Kent is THE superhero. The blueprint. There’s no pipe wrench or sentient tree here. Just truth, justice, and the weight of an entire cinematic universe resting on your back.
Gunn was approached years ago to direct Man of Steel 2 with Henry Cavill and passed. He almost passed again after writing this new reboot. “I didn’t want to do it,” Gunn admitted before. “Until I realized I had something personal to say.” Taking on Superman is a huge responsibility. And it’s one Gunn is taking very seriously.
So yes, Superman may be his most traditional superhero film so far. But his first? No, James, you’ve been doing superhero movies for a while now.
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