Summary

James Gunn believes certain scenes, like Spider-Man's spider bite, can be omitted from superhero movies.
Contrary to popular belief, superheroes don't always need an explicit origin story in films.
The popularity of heroes like Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman means their origins are well-known and may not need to be continually revisited.

DC Studios, James Gunn, and seemingly all of Hollywood are counting down the days until Superman's release later this month. The famed director has been doing the rounds as of late, and he believes three specific superhero-related scenes never need to be shown in movies ever again.

Superhero films have come a long way since 1978's Superman: The Movie ignited the fledgling genre. A host of Superman films followed in the wake of the original's success, the Batman film franchise became the hottest thing since sliced bread, and numerous imitators tried and failed through the late-'90s. Then, Marvel's triple-headed monster of Blade, X-Men, and Spider-Man kickstarted a brand-new wave of superhero films that is still being felt to this day. Think of all that has happened since Sam Raimi's Spider-Man stormed out of the gates in 2002: Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy made Batman cool again, Iron Man lit the MCU's fuse, the DCEU came and went, and the Spider-Verse films proved superhero animation could take the box office by storm. The past fifty years have seen dozens upon dozens of superhero films, with three heroes in particular getting more adaptations than any other: Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. Coincidentally, James Gunn believes there are three scenes pertaining to those heroes that no one needs to see in a film ever again.

James Gunn's Superman Isn't Going To Be All Jokes, The Man Knows When To Slow Down And Get Sincere

Yeah, James Gunn's Superman will surely have jokes, but his filmography has consistently shown he knows how to tug at the heartstrings, too.

Posts

By Tyler Mitchell

Gunn recently sat down for an interview with The Times and went into how there are simply some scenes that moviegoers don't need anymore. "There are three things I don’t ever need to see again in a superhero movie," Gunn claimed. "I don’t need to see pearls in a back alley when Batman’s parents are killed. I don’t need to see the radioactive spider biting Spider-Man. And I don’t need to see baby Kal coming from Krypton in a little baby rocket." The esteemed director is 100% correct here, as audiences don't need to see every superhero's origin to get their character. Moviegoers have seen those specific scenes numerous times on film (and in print and on television), so what are they adding to new projects, if anything at all?

James Gunn Believes Audiences Don't Need To See Everything About A Superhero's Origin Story

Everybody knows that Peter Parker got his superpowers after he was bitten by a spider. We saw the scene in 2002's Spider-Man and 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man. Tom Holland's version of the character from the MCU luckily hasn't been given that scene in live-action, but a flashback is always possible. Similarly, everyone also knows that Batman's parents died and that Superman is an alien from another planet sent here as a baby. Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman are the three most popular superheroes on the planet, and they've been the three most popular superheroes on the planet for decades.

"We have watched a million movies with characters who don’t have their upbringing explained, like when we see Good Night, and Good Luck, we don’t need to know the early life of Edward R. Murrow to explain how he became a journalist. Who cares?" - James Gunn

There have been comic books, television shows, movies, radio dramas, video games, and every other form of mass media you can think of describing the origins of these characters for much longer than the majority of people reading this very sentence have been alive. Why does every specific incarnation of these famous heroes need an explicit origin story? Audiences are more intelligent than Tinseltown often credits them for being, anyway.

In this particular instance, James Gunn is undoubtedly in the right. Now, let's just hope his Superman film is up to snuff.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image