James Gunn has made a career out of creating comic book movies, many of which are considered “superhero” films. However, if you were to ask the director himself if he’s ever made one before, he’d tell you no. Interestingly, James Gunn considers Superman to be the first full-blown superhero movie he has ever made. It’s an odd comment to say the least, though the filmmaker would have a perfectly reasonable explanation for the bold statement. Given his impressive career at Marvel Studios, one might think otherwise, but upon closer examination of the characters he adapts, things begin to make sense.
While promoting Superman with IGN, Gunn was asked about his past projects, particularly his second-ever feature film, Super. The director would then reflect on all the films he had made up to this point and reveal his realization that Superman was his first genuine superhero movie. As it turns out, while Gunn’s work at Marvel and DC has been adaptations of comic book characters, none of them have necessarily been superheroes, as the director explained:
“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.”
James Gunn Has Come a Long Way Since ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Trilogy and DC projects, such as The Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos, all feature thematically similar stories, with the writer/director placing an emphasis on underdog narratives. There’s something about Gunn’s affinity for misfits that has contributed to his success as a filmmaker. Now, Superman will be the first comic book movie that Gunn writes and directs that doesn’t star a character who is always on the ropes— it’s quite the contrary, as Superman is one of the most popular and powerful DC Comics characters.
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In a way, Gunn’s tackling of Superman signifies how far he’s come since he first started making movies in 1996. Now the co-chairman of DC Studios, Gunn has a significantly larger set of responsibilities, helping to shepherd other creators in making their own comic book adaptations within the DCU. Now, all that remains to be seen is how Superman is received and if the DCU has a future. Given the impressive opening weekend box office projections, it seems that will likely be the case.
Despite being his “first” superhero movie, it seems that the writer and director have impressively exemplified everything that the Man of Steel stands for. The marketing and trailers have showcased the film as Gunn’s most ambitious project yet, featuring a multitude of DC superheroes, and marking the first feature film in a new interconnected universe. Overall, Gunn’s first superhero movie is also considered one of the biggest in recent memory.
Source: IGN
Superman
- Release Date
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July 11, 2025
- Runtime
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130 Minutes
- Director
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James Gunn
- Producers
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Lars P. Winther, Peter Safran
