Director James Gunn says the destructive-looking version of Superman seen in the trailer for his upcoming film “Superman” represents America.
During a recent Q&A session at the trailer premiere, the director acknowledged the political implications present in the film, saying there is a theme of a bruised and bloodied America running through it.
“Our Superman gets beaten up first. This is our country.” Gunn said In this event.
The broken-down Superman seen in the film's first trailer represents America, “Superman” director James Gunn told reporters in a recent Q&A session. (Getty Images)
Trailer Premiering online on Thursday, it teases a whole new cinematic universe for the legendary DC Comics hero. Actor David Corenswet plays Superman this time, alongside Lois Lane, played by Rachel Brosnahan.
In addition to reintroducing audiences to classic Superman characters, the nearly two-minute trailer showed the titular character in tatters, lying bloodied and bruised in an arctic wasteland.
The opening shots of the trailer show the gruff superhero using his remaining strength to whistle to his dog, Krypto, to save him.
Gunn said the shocking images of the broken hero are a sign of America still standing up for good despite what he described as its current bloody and exhausted state.
“I believe in the goodness of human beings, and I believe that most people in this country, despite their ideological beliefs and politics, do their best to be good people — despite what it may seem to the other side,” he said.
But he said Superman Gun's beleaguered state represents America when corrupted by “dark voices.”
“This movie is about that. It's about the basic kindness of human beings, and that it can be perceived as unkind and besieged (by) some darker voices and some louder voices.”
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The opening shots of the trailer showed the gruff 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.
“It's about the basic kindness of human beings,” he said. “It's a noble premise, and one that seems designed to appeal to all political stripes. 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, calling him in a 2017 post “an incompetent president who launches an all-out attack on facts and journalism in the style of Hitler and Putin.”
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During the Superman event, Gunn also mentioned how he wanted the reboot to keep a distance from some of the themes of previous iterations of the franchise.
“However, given how often contemporary superhero stories have been scrutinized as symbols of our polarized times, there is an undercurrent of concern,” he added. “After all, DC's previous installments have been criticized for flirting with darker political undertones and 'delusions of fascist power'.”
He added elsewhere: “We all felt like we were doing something good… not a fascist power fantasy.”
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