While we’re still a few weeks away from the release of James Gunn’s Superman, in movie theatres on July 11, 2025, the conversation around the DC reboot is already splitting fans down the middle, with some cautiously optimistic and others totally against everything they’ve seen in the trailers, and that’s before we’ve even seen the full extent of what David Corenswet’s Man of Steel has to offer. But while most of the early buzz coming from industry insiders, exhibitors, and theatre managers, who have seen the film, has been incredibly positive, not everyone’s buying what Gunn is selling. Well, according to John Campea, who has been hyping the film for months, at least two people aren’t.
After weeks of praising everything he’d heard about the film, especially from people who had reportedly seen the first 30 minutes, Campea said it was only fair to share a different opinion (from someone who has reportedly seen the whole film) when it surfaced. “I have to emphasize this is one person,” he said. “But again, in the service of fairness… I just kind of felt like if I’m going to rush onto my show and put up thumbnails about talking about every time I have somebody tell me that they loved Superman, it’s only fair for me to also come out and say, ‘Hey, it’s not all roses.’”
According to Campea, this particular person, who is apparently well-balanced, not anti-DC, and definitely not a Snyder cultist, described the film as “convoluted,” “messy,” and “massively disappointing.”
You’ll agree, those are strong words.
Still, Campea is excited for Superman (2025), which he has called his most anticipated movie of the year. He just isn’t going to pretend that all the feedback is unanimously great. “Has it taken a little bit of the wind out of my sails as far as my excitement goes? Yes,” he admitted. “But that’s just because I wanted to hear nothing but pure positive praise about it.”
Robert Meyer Burnett, Campea’s co-host, was quick to point out that Gunn’s Superman is a completely different beast, and that many fans might outright reject the direction it’s going. “James Gunn is embracing the whimsy. He’s embracing the four-colour fantasy. He’s embracing the Silver Age in a way that we’ve never seen before.”
Burnett explained that Superman is essentially a comic book fan’s comic book movie, and that it may not be to everyone’s cup of tea. He believes it’ll divide audiences, especially those who are more used to Snyder’s god-like, grounded approach.
Still, like Campea, he remains optimistic. “This is something new,” he said. “And for that alone, I’m excited to see an auteurist director who wrote and directed a Superman movie and made it their own.”
Campea agreed, saying that while the film might not be everyone’s favourite, or even hit 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, he still expects to have a great time. “I love his vision for what he’s doing and I’ve heard from the vast majority of people that I’ve talked to who have seen this film now have absolutely loved it,” he said. “But not all of them.”
With just days to go until the film’s release date, it’s pretty clear that Superman is going to stir debate and spark big opinions on both sides. You’re either going to eat up everything you see or spit it all out.
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I was at an early screening for Gunn’s Superman and I have to say I fall squarely on this anonymous person’s side: It’s a massive disappointment. I’ve long been a Gunn fan, back to his Troma days. I deeply dug the first 2 Gaurdian flicks, tho I wasn’t crazy about the 3rd. And, full transparency, I hated Peacemaker, The Suicide Squad & Creature Commandos, finding their flippant nature, meandering plots and head scratchingly flat characters to be deeply unsatisfying. HOWEVER, I still had hope for Superman. I thought maybe Gunn just needed to get his feet under him and that Supes would be his establishment of his DCU and his coming to terms with the universe. Boy, was I wrong. He simply double downed on all his flaws. Don’t get me wrong, the film LOOKS beautiful and it’s fun to see so many different DC characters sharing the screen (something the MCU needs to embrace if they ever want out of their slump); but, ultimately, it doesn’t take its own story and characters serious. I’m in no way saying he should’ve gone Serious Snyder route, but some sense of stakes and fully developed characters are necessary to buy into his world. I found the humanity of the proceedings to be vacant. I heard Gunn compare his DCU to ‘Game of Thrones’, and I find that laughable. GoT had immense world building and thoughtful & compelling characters, Gunn offers us a cliched soundtrack and pretty pictures, funny one-liners, but nothing beneath the surface. There were many in the audience who found the movie really fun, and seemed primed from the start to love the movie regardless, so many of you will enjoy it I’m sure; however, my wife and group we went with, all walked out shaking our heads.