Summary

Superman movie under James Gunn features humor & a new take on the character's essence.
Gunn's success with humor in Guardians of the Galaxy is expected to influence Superman.
DC taking risks with humor in Superman shows a promising approach for the reboot.

Superman is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, and James Gunn is launching his DC Universe in style. The film will be released on July 11, 2025, with David Corenswet in the titular role, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult playing Lex Luthor. It will give audiences a glimpse of what can be expected from DC moving forward under Gunn's leadership.

There is a mixture of excitement and nerves about the franchise's future, but a brilliant Superman movie would go a long way to getting the DCU launched in style. However, due to his time working on the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, there are some concerns about whether Gunn will end up making Superman too similar to a Marvel Studios movie.

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By Matthew Wilkinson

Superman Is Expected To Feature Some Humor

This Will Be A Change Of Pace For The Franchise

Over the years, Superman movies have tended to be on the more serious side of cinema, opting to take a dramatic approach to the character and the world he's in. That makes sense, given that the plot is often based around saving the world, but at the same time, comic book movies always feel like they need a moment of levity and humor. It allows audiences to take a breath in the midst of such a serious plot, and it also means the film doesn't take itself too seriously. After all, Superman is someone flying around in a cape; it's not supposed to be the most dramatic story ever created. While there's a need for suspense and for audiences to take things seriously, giving the character some funny situations and comedic dialogue could be a good thing here. It's a fresh start for the Superman franchise, and providing a tweaked look at the character wouldn't be a bad thing.

Early test session reports have claimed that there is comedy in this movie, and it is punctual and to the point. Given that Gunn is the director, that's something that many people expected to see, as he is notorious for adding humor to his movies. Gunn himself confirmed that there would be humorous moments, but he also stressed that it wouldn't be as much as Suicide Squad or Guardians of the Galaxy. While it's the right decision not to lean that far into comedy due to Superman being a more serious hero, the fact that this movie is set to have plenty of comedic moments is going to be interesting.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Perfectly Balanced Humor With Emotion

There Is A Reason Why The Franchise Was Such A Hit

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Drax And Mantis Joke On Peter

Some Superman fans are worried that this movie is going to end up being too similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, as that is a franchise that Gunn created and turned into a mega-hit. However, that's not a bad thing. The original Guardians grossed $771 million, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 grossed $869 million, while the third film made $837 million. These movies were massive box office hits and were also critically well-received, with this franchise being seen as one of Marvel's very best. Gunn managed to take relatively unknown characters and make them household names by blending comedy with emotion, alongside some superhero action. Therefore, taking some pages out of that playbook shouldn't be considered terrible.

Sure, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies are almost comedies in some parts, but there are also tons of emotional narratives. Rocket Raccoon's storyline in the third film is one of the saddest that has ever been seen in a comic book movie, and each group member has individual moments throughout the franchise. Therefore, Superman fans don't need to panic that this will become a laugh fest, as there will still be serious tones and emotional beats throughout the plot that drives the story forward and grip audiences from start to finish.

DC Studios Needs To Take A Gamble With Superman

Audiences Don't Need More Of The Same

Superman in the trailer for the 2025 film — Superman trailer

DC hit the restart button for a reason: what they were doing wasn't necessarily working. Gunn was also hired on purpose because he's a proven talent who thinks outside the box and doesn't deliver the normal tropes people expect, and that's something that will benefit Superman. Gunn will take some gambles with the character, all while staying true to the lore and the story surrounding him. But it's what is needed right now. Doing more of the same won't change anything, and if DC wants to eventually compete with Marvel, then taking risks like adding humor into the Superman movie is the right approach.

Ultimately, this portrayal of Superman doesn't need to be more of the same as previous iterations. Of course, there will be some similar moments because it is the same character, and there are certain qualities that people expect to see from Superman. But making him slightly funnier isn't going to hurt him. Nobody looked at the Guardians and didn't take them seriously when it came to fight scenes, as audiences knew they could hold their own. That's even truer with Superman, as he's infinitely more powerful, but being able to make him more relatable is the key here. Many of Marvel's characters become so iconic because they have human elements, things that people can connect with. That's why the Guardians of the Galaxy movies performed so well, as audiences were able to relate to all of them, including a talking tree and a raccoon. Superman has felt a little too alien in the past, almost coming across as cold, and that's not the right approach. Therefore, adding some humor and being slightly similar to the Guardians in some ways is going to be a good thing for Superman.

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