He is the new Superman! Promising first images from the 2025 summer event movie

is it a bird is it a plane No, he’s the new Superman! Still dressed in blue and red, it’s getting ready to take off in theaters again, but the first trailer for James Gunn’s film begins with a landing. Or rather, a sudden fall in the snow. A native of Krypton, his face is bleeding and his wheezing punctuates the few images we are shown next.

According to James Gunn, it should be seen as a metaphor for America today. But there’s probably more to it, as this crash and the superhero’s health could also be symbolic of the situation DC finds itself in right now, forced to reboot its cinematic universe after a series of setbacks and bad choices. Led by the director of Guardians of the Galaxy, the architect of this new version along with producer Peter Safran, who himself will be responsible for the return of Superman. “at home”As the Man of Steel asks his dog Krypto.

What follows are images, mostly devoid of dialogue, where hope for a better tomorrow shines. Despite the presence of Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) or this image showing the controversial Superman as played by Henry Cavill during his confrontation with Batman, the trailer highlights the optimism that his presence causes in the population. Metropolis, his eyes were on the sky, or a love story with Lois Lane.

Accordingly, the previous version of the DC Universe starred Amy Adams and Henry Cavill, Lois Lane and Clark Kent here have the features of Rachel Brosnahan (Fairytale Mrs. Maisel) and David Korensvet (Twisters). While we’ll have to wait a little longer to judge their chemistry, the actor is already rocking a Superman costume, and James Gunn’s main reference seems to be the 1978 film with Christopher Reeve, which we hear has been re-orchestrated and edited. A version of a famous musical theme.

The hero’s future allies are also shown, from Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) to Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) to Mr. . And it suggests that James Gunn is going to bring Superman and DC back on July 9th.

“A Superman who stays true to his origins as the ultimate good guy”

This Monday, December 16, the director and producer both invited some of the press to Los Angeles to discover the trailer and clearly show his ambitions with his three main actors. and answer some questions.

AlloCiné: As is often the case with you, and the trailer clearly shows, the story and characters come to the fore. How do you create this story that honors the legacy of Superman and his universe, while ensuring it’s accessible and engaging for the generation discovering this universe for the first time?

James Gunn: I didn’t set out to write a Superman movie thinking that I wanted to pay homage to one thing or another while remaining open-minded. Above all, I tried to write a story that would stimulate, move, and feel authentic. It all started like that, but then it took me a while to get to what the starting point of the movie is, and part of that time is what you see in the trailer.

But I knew I wanted a Superman that stayed true to his origins as the ultimate good guy. That’s why I made a film about kindness, kindness. This is what I said to the cast over our dinner the day before we started shooting, that the world doesn’t seem to have many good things, and our film should be one of them. And to make it real, we have to be good to each other, to the technical team, and to be authentic. This movie is mostly about that for me.

The image of Krypto coming to Superman’s aid refers to the testimonies of people who said they were saved by their family members. Can you tell us about Superman and Krypto’s relationship in this film and your choice to start the trailer with our hero at his most vulnerable?

James Gunn: Right from the start, we’re shown a side of Superman that’s a little different than what we’re used to seeing in the movies. Because this movie is less about superpowers and more about the person: who he is as a person struggling in everyday life. So I thought that would be a good starting point for the trailer, but his relationship with Krypto is complicated because he’s far from the top dog he seems to be here. (laughs)

There’s a lot more to crypto than meets the eye in this trailer. But I also thought it was a way to show that we were going to embrace the whole Superman mythology, where too many superhero movies have taken one character — whether it’s Batman or Superman — without taking away the rest. But he lives in the world of superheroes, an alternate universe of our own, where they exist, even if he remains entirely on Earth in many ways.

There are many people, real people who have lives. But Superman exists in this world, and he has friends who are also superheroes. A dog that flies. A giant castle rising out of the ground. He fights giant monsters. There are a lot of things we love about the comics that pertain to the Superman mythology, but haven’t seen in many adaptations, let alone realistically. But I hope that’s what we managed to do.

What were James’ instructions to become Superman, David?

David Korenswet: I read comics “All Star Superman”Especially for Clark Kent, because playing that side of the character is a lot of interesting challenges. But it was nice to be able to do the silent version. I hadn’t read that many comics, so I had no idea about these different versions of Clark. I knew the ones from the movies and series, so I was able to create my own. I was also loosely inspired by my sister-in-law, who is 6 feet tall and 250 pounds, has a deeper voice, and is always in transition, even though she tries not to be. (laughs). As then Clarke.

Can you tell us about the musical theme we hear here?

James Gunn: From the beginning, I knew what I wanted to do with music. I thought about it a lot and wondered if we were going to do something different or use the John Williams theme. The 1978 Superman soundtrack is one of my favorites. When I was little, I loved his music the most in this movie. That’s what I got from him more than anything else. But knowing that we were going to do something as much about the past as the future, we had to find a balance.

John Murphy is a composer I love to work with and he started working on the music before the script was finished. He was actually one of the first people I gave it to, along with Peter Safran and a few others, to start writing music. I told him I wanted to use John Williams’ version of the theme, but mostly I wanted it to be our own version. And that’s what you heard.

Unsurprisingly, this version has spawned other titles, some recalling the John Williams theme, and others being Saint John Murphy, who learns what’s been done, learns from it, and uses it to great effect throughout the film. He worked on the development of this play for almost two years. As many of you know, I’m the one who pre-writes the basic elements of the score so we can play it every morning on set, and that’s what we’ve done here again. But as with the rest of the film, the challenge was to find a balance between tradition and modernity.

The cover theme is reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix’s American Anthem and represents what Superman represents to the American people. How did you integrate this concept into the film?

James Gunn: This is what “take me home” From Superman to Krypto represents. When I watched the trailer and the movie, I realized that we had a bruised Superman in the beginning, and I think that’s a metaphor for our country. I believe in the goodness of people. I believe that most people in this country, regardless of their ideological or political beliefs, do their best to be good people, regardless of what it looks like on the other side. And that’s what the movie is about.

It speaks to the basic goodness of people and how it can be perceived as strange when the darkest voices are the loudest. This is what happens when we make people believe that the internet is the world when it isn’t. We are the world. I live in a very rural part of Georgia and every day I see the kindness and beauty of people who do not share my political views. That’s what it’s about: the film is about the fundamental monotheism of humans all over the world.

Comments collected by Emmanuel Iter in Los Angeles on December 16, 2024