Filmmaker James Gunn says the battered version of Superman seen in the trailer for his highly anticipated ‘Superman’ movie represents America.
During a recent Q&A at the trailer’s premiere, the director acknowledged the film’s political implications, saying it runs a theme of a bruised and bloody America.
“We do have a battered Superman in the beginning. That is our country,” said Gunn at the event.
“Superman” director James Gunn told reporters during a recent Q&A that the battered Superman in the film’s first trailer represents America. (Getty Images)
The trailer debuted online Thursday, teasing an all-new cinematic universe for the legendary DC Comics superhero. This time Superman is played by actor David Corenswet, alongside Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane.
The roughly two-minute trailer not only reintroduced audiences to the classic Superman characters, but also to the titular character in dire circumstances, bloodied and bruised in an Arctic wasteland.
The opening shots of the trailer show the rugged superhero using his remaining strength to whistle for his dog, Krypto, to save him.
Gunn said the shocking images of the broken hero are a reference to an America that still stands for goodness despite what he called its current bloodied and beaten up state.
“I believe in the goodness of man, and I believe that most people in this country, despite their ideological beliefs and their politics, are doing their best to get by and be good people – despite what it might look like to the other side.” seems. ” he said.
But the beleaguered state of Gunn’s Superman represents America when it is being corrupted by “darker voices,” he said.
“This movie is about that. It’s about the basic kindness of people, and that it can be seen as not cool and under fire (by) some of the darker voices are some of the louder voices.”
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The opening shots of the trailer showed the rugged Superman using his remaining strength to whistle to his super-powered dog, Krypto, to save him. (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
Elsewhere during the Q&A, Gunn reiterated the idea that the film is about human goodness overcoming these “darker” influences.
He said: “It’s about the basic kindness of people. It’s a noble premise, and one that seems designed to appeal to the entire political spectrum. It’s a moral call to embrace decency and optimism.”
Gunn, who has stayed away from political details, has long been a critic of President-elect Donald Trump. In a 2017 post, he called him “an incompetent president who is orchestrating an outright attack on facts and journalism in the style of Hitler and Putin.”
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During the Superman event, Gunn also talked about how he wanted his reboot to move away from some of the themes from the franchise’s previous iterations.
“But given how often contemporary superhero stories have been scrutinized as allegories for our polarized age, there is an undercurrent of concern,” he said. “After all, previous DC installments have been criticized for flirting with darker political undertones and ‘fascist power fantasies’.”
“We all felt we were doing something good… and not some fascist power fantasy,” he added elsewhere.
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