Photos from the set of writer-director James Gunn’s upcoming superhero reboot Superman have leaked online and are generating strong reactions from fans, both good and bad, as the film continues production ahead of its July 11, 2025 release date.
David Corenswet dons the “Superman” costume.
The photos in question, which I will not post here or describe in detail, in keeping with my long-standing policy against such things, depict David Corenswet’s Superman in full costume. Depending on who you ask, this is either the best Superman costume ever, the worst Superman costume ever, or an acceptable costume that missed an opportunity to be perfect.
So, a little bit of everything. But most of the reactions have been extreme, and in these environments no one is willing to tolerate the opposition’s positions – and everyone insists that their own hostility is a response to the hostility of his adversaries, ad nauseam.
In fact, we already got a glimpse of the costume in the first official image from the set, which you can see above. Shot “entirely in camera” by Jess Miglio according to Gunn, that image also raised questions and sparked strong reactions, and I explained my own impression of the costume and the staging in a post you can read. here.
Long story short, I look at the suit and it’s Superman. That’s what matters: When you see him, you think, “That’s Superman.” “That doesn’t mean he’s your favorite Superman, it just means you recognize he has all the attributes necessary to make sure you see Superman in costume.
All of Hollywood’s big-screen Superman films have had this quality, and Gunn’s next kickoff in the DCU – under the direction of he and co-CEO Peter Safran of DC Studios – is no exception. From George Reeves to Christopher Reeve, from Brandon Routh to Henry Cavill, and now with David Corenswet, Superman’s cinematic costumes have always been good to excellent representations of the Man of Steel.
George Reeves made do with cheap, thin outfits in 1951. Superman and the Mole Menbut it was still quite handsome by the standards of the time. The costume itself depended on the figure of the person wearing it; so on someone with the physique of a typical superhero today, it might have looked even more convincing.
Christopher Reeve essentially had a more expensive, better-fitting version of the same model that George Reeves wore, for 1978. Superman: The Movie and its three sequels. This film series created the template for superhero movie storytelling and used a combination of serious drama and sense of humor in a big, bright and ambitious, entertaining way that informed Marvel’s approach Studio.
Brandon Routh got a superior, more expensive version of the same design in 2006. The Return of Superman. Whatever fans’ reservations about the size of the trunks and the “S”, this is a great example of how modern superhero movies can use tight-weave design in a way that still feels high-quality and believable.
It was Henry Cavill who made the first significant outfit redesign in his Superman debut Steel man (continuing in Batman vs Superman, Zack Snyder’s Justice LeagueAnd Black Adam), a more alien aesthetic for a design meant to represent not an intentional superhero costume but some sort of combined ambassador and warrior garment (presumably intended to be worn under outer armor, as seen on Krypton) . It’s a beautiful concept, which also looks great on screen.
Corenswet’s Outfit for the 2025 Reboot Superman returns to the traditional design of the previous films, including red trunks and overall brighter saturated colors, but without the skin-tight material and instead favoring the armored/uniform approach of Cavill’s era. It tweaks the traditional design by taking inspiration from comics and specific eras when it comes to details like the “S” emblem and the design of the trunks. It seems like the story is meant to be a suitA Super hero costume, something Superman wears precisely to create the sensibility that leads cynics to say “that’s corny.”
Complaints that Corenswet’s costume is “baggy” because it creases when he bends or leans, and the related claim that Corenswet is not muscular enough to fill out the costume, come primarily from Cavill fans who are upset that he is not continuing in the role.
It’s telling that their complaints ignore the fact that Cavill’s suit also had creases and fake muscles built into and painted on the outside, as well as the fact that Corenswet is actually taller and heavier than Cavill – he just appears thinner because his massive muscles are spread over a few extra inches of height.
Of course, while Corenswet’s costume already looks great in the leaked photos, it’s also true that these are illicit photos taken on set or remotely, and therefore the quality of the images is poor and does not at all reflect how the costumes will actually appear on film. Yet, every time a new superhero movie is in production and the first photos of costumes leak, fans engage in these same clichéd histrionics about “fidelity”, quality and design, worrying about the most pedantic criticisms.
It’s in the nature of fandom to overthink and overreact, but it’s always sad to see it happen, even though we know it’s probably inevitable. And it’s especially disappointing to see it not be driven by serious debate or sincere complaints about anything substantial, but by ulterior motives driven primarily by unhealthy obsessions in favor of one thing and against another.
This isn’t about liking or disliking a costume. It’s about the inability of some fans to learn from the past, to avoid overreacting, and to stop behaving as if only people who share their narrow personal preferences are “true fans” and that only things that conform to their preferences deserve to exist.
What makes the situation even worse is that these myopic and stereotypical fan reactions are expressed with a lot of vitriol and offensive lies about James Gunn personally, too often manifesting as spam and harassment towards Gunn and others .
But none of this will matter in 2025. The general public will decide. Superman’s fate, not the fans who wage war against it.
I suppose if DC Studios and WBD play their cards right – an often dubious proposition when it comes to WBD’s leadership, admittedly – Superman will bring together the same combination of elements that drove audiences to embrace Marvel’s MCU films, particularly those from Gunn himself.
guardians of the galaxy and its sequels have all grossed around $800 million, and that’s where I think DC and WBD are hoping their new Superman can soar. Gunn’s sensibilities are irreverent in all the best ways and serious enough to capture the hearts and minds of audiences, a description that describes much of what has made the MCU as a whole popular.
Applying this approach to DC characters like Superman, in a way relevant to DC’s point of view (summarized quite perfectly in the name “Gods and Monsters” of this chapter of the new DCU), seems like a winning approach, especially if enough time passes for the public forgets the DCEU. But will 2025 be long enough for that?
I said it before, I think it would have been smarter to leave The Batman hold the film space for DC in 2025, with perhaps a Catwoman film or spinoff series put into production for a 2025 release as well, and give Superman an extra year of respite from the DCEU.
While I still believe that to be true, I also think that the overall shrinking superhero footprint in theaters and streaming through 2025 will benefit the genre, if the current overall “drought” leads audiences to eagerly return to both Marvel and DC when the right movies finally come around. reveal. And so far, Superman This definitely seems like one of the good ones to me.