James Gunn revealed to Fandango that he consulted none other than Zack Snyder over whether or not to add red trunks to the new Superman costume. Snyder famously created his own Superman costume, sans trunks, for Henry Cavill in 2013’s “Man of Steel.” The director helmed two more movies with Cavill’s Superman, 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and 2017’s “Justice League.” Now Superman is being rebooted by Gunn and the actor David Corenswet, and those red trunks is what everyone has been talking about since the first photos of Corenswet in character leaked online.
“One of the biggest questions was, ‘Were we gonna have trunks, or were we gonna not have trunks?’” Gunn said. “I talked to Zack Snyder, who was like, ‘I tried a billion different versions with the trunks, and at the end of the day, I tried it, but I just couldn’t get there.’ And I was feeling exactly the same way… Theoretically, I liked the idea of trunks because it’s the Superman I grew up with.”
Gunn previously told press it was Corenswet who convinced him that the new Superman needed to be wearing those trunks, explaining: “We were trying on all these different versions, and we screened tested with trunks and no trunks. And one of the things David said is that Superman wants kids to not be afraid of him. He’s an alien. He’s got these incredible powers. He shoots beams out of his eyes… He’s incredibly powerful and could be considered scary. He wants people to like him. He wants to be a symbol of hope and positivity. So he dresses like a professional wrestler. He dresses in a way that makes people unafraid of him, that shows that hope and shows that positivity. And that really clicked in for me.”
The director added at the time that trying to make Superman “look serious is silly because he is a superhero. He’s the first one, brightly colored and that’s who he is.”
Gunn is also the co-chief of DC Studios with Peter Safran, and the two are launching a brand new DC Universe with “Superman” as the official starting point. Snyder was responsible for the previous DC Universe, which ended in box office disappointments like “The Flash.” Gunn revealed on X shortly after taking over the studio that he had touched base with Snyder and there was no hard feelings between them.
“Superman” opens in theaters July 11 from Warner Bros. Watch Gunn’s full Fandango conversation with the film’s cast in the video below.
From Variety US
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
