James Gunn's Superman (DCU) - 2025

[George P Global Moderator]

On 17/07/2025 at 13:39, FloatingFatMan said:

You know what I'd like to see?  A Mr Terrific or a Hawk Girl movie... Maybe even a proper Green Lantern movie that no one actually despises....    Enough of the same old supers, time and time again... I have a feeling Gunn is going to lean towards something in that area too given the exposition in the opening...

There's rumors that a Mr Terrific movie is on the way but we'll have to wait and see.  There's also the GL TV series coming, that should lead into a bigger GL movie I expect. 

[+primortal Subscriber²]

On 17/07/2025 at 10:38, George P said:

There's rumors that a Mr Terrific movie is on the way but we'll have to wait and see.  There's also the GL TV series coming, that should lead into a bigger GL movie I expect. 

I think Guy Gardner will be in the GL series as well, https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/lantern-nathan-fillion-guy-gardner-hbo-series-1236353007/

[Case_f]

On 15/07/2025 at 17:08, hagjohn said:

I did not like this movie. This movie had level of unseriousness about this movie that the other Superman movies did not have. Seemed to me that the heroes were the comic relief. I would have rather seen another Cavill movie. 4 out of 10.

 

I feel kinda similar. I don't think Man of Steel was flawless, it has plenty of issues (one of them certainly being a bit too dark, at least at times), but I do re-watch it from time to time and mostly enjoy it. I feel like it is the best of Snyder's DC movies by a fair bit.

This one felt weird to me - a bit too...I don't know, would "whimsical" be a good word to describe it (not a native speaker)? It does a lot correctly for sure, but overall comes off too... "Gunn-y". I feel like a Superman movie deserves a bit more seriousness than something like Gunn's Suicide Squad or Peacemaker. It seems like Gunn is leaning quite a bit into the more lighthearted side of Superman (and DC in general), whereas I seem to prefer the more serious one. The original two with Reeve were pretty spot on in that regard (despite awkward time travel ).

But clearly it has been a welcome change for many, so more power to them and to Gunn, I guess

[hagjohn]

On 17/07/2025 at 11:32, primortal said:

I think Guy Gardner will be in the GL series as well, https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/lantern-nathan-fillion-guy-gardner-hbo-series-1236353007/

Guy Gardner is the new Jar Jar Binks. I do not get the appeal.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

This is the Superman film I had been waiting for. The tone was fine, yes a little more “fun” than previous outings but a lot of that came from supporting characters. Krypto was well handled, and somehow managed to not be an annoying distraction and actually a valid part of the story. Hoult was GREAT as Luthor. Genuinely so happy that this wasn’t crap.

I personally enjoyed Superman Returns, despite its flaws (tried too much to hide behind the older movies, had no real fight to Superman). I enjoyed the Man Of Steel movies despite their flaws (totally that is NOT Superman). But this - this is the film I had wanted.

In the UK we are far more reserved in cinemas than Americans. It’s rare that there is the whooping and hollering that we have seen from videos of US theatres, so when I say that the audience clapped at the end of this - it’s quite a big deal.

As for all this “Superman has gone woke” BS - he is freaking Superman and if at any point in that movie you found yourself pooh-pooing his actions, you are just - you’re aligning your thinking with the problems and not the solutions. I adore how the movie addressed the modern world through thinly veiled allegory (Israel, online bots, perceptions of people, how they change on a dime) - that is maybe one of the greatest strengths of  comics, they rarely pull punches with that sort of thing, and look, THIS IS SUPERMAN, he’s meant to be the global boyscout and that is a strength and where he falls down sometimes, that’s just who he is and who he is meant to be. I also am glad there was no reference to the worldwide joke that is “Truth, Justice and the American way”.

I can understand the comment suggesting this film was a little too “fun” or “whimsical”, but I’d urge a rewatch of the Donner Superman. It was very much a flawed masterpiece and its subsequent sequel had too many jokes that didn’t land. While there was a lot of James Gunn in this movie, I feel he pulled it back significantly, it wasn’t Guardians and moreover a lot of the fun came from supporting roles.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

On 19/07/2025 at 16:00, hagjohn said:

Guy Gardner is the new Jar Jar Binks. I do not get the appeal.

Disagreed, I feel it’s going somewhere and his role served a purpose - and moreover with maybe what 10 mins of screen time - he had a bit of character development also.

[hellowalkman Reporter]

I watched it this week, I really liked it too. Just wish the run-time was a bit longer coz it would have helped some scenes flesh out better. Overall 8.5 out of 10 for me.

[Case_f]

On 20/07/2025 at 11:17, Nik Louch said:

While there was a lot of James Gunn in this movie, I feel he pulled it back significantly, it wasn’t Guardians and moreover a lot of the fun came from supporting roles.

I would agree with most of this, though I still feel like there was a bit too much of the "Guardians" type of thing. But yes, despite that, he clearly pulled it back a fair bit and yes, most of it came from supporting roles.

And no, I too don't really see the appeal of Fillion's Guy Gardner, apart from the fact that people have been asking for it for ages and it's Fillion, so of course everyone goes crazy. I had no idea a TV show is planned, but we'll see how it turns out. (Also, I frankly feel like Fillion is getting a bit too old for the role and doesn't really fit it anymore.)

[George P Global Moderator]

On 21/07/2025 at 09:17, hellowalkman said:

I watched it this week, I really liked it too. Just wish the run-time was a bit longer coz it would have helped some scenes flesh out better. Overall 8.5 out of 10 for me.

That's the only thing many who liked it said, it could've been another 15mins, maybe even 30mins longer.  Makes me wonder if we're going to get a extended release later for streaming/bluray.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

On 21/07/2025 at 07:43, Case_f said:

And no, I too don't really see the appeal of Fillion's Guy Gardner

The character was a foil for Superman, to show the difference in how the metahumans act as opposed to how he does.  It feels (to me) like this is the first seed of Kingdom Come.

[FloatingFatMan]

On 21/07/2025 at 07:43, Case_f said:

And no, I too don't really see the appeal of Fillion's Guy Gardner, apart from the fact that people have been asking for it for ages and it's Fillion, so of course everyone goes crazy. I had no idea a TV show is planned, but we'll see how it turns out. (Also, I frankly feel like Fillion is getting a bit too old for the role and doesn't really fit it anymore.)

I agree on Fillion's age. Good actor, but too old for this role IMO.  As for Gardner the character, remember that he's MEANT to be a complete a-hole.  Always has been, always will be.  

[Case_f]

When I say I don't see the appeal, I meant as in general, of the character within the story. I guess apart from being a foil, as mentioned, but I still feel it could probably be done a bit more...less on the nose? A bit more nuanced? Something like that. He really just felt more like a chance to cast Fillion more than anything (to me, anyway).

Obviously I am aware that Guy Gardner is not exactly meant to be an *appealing* character

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

On 22/07/2025 at 08:30, Case_f said:

A bit more nuanced?

I get where you're coming from by Fillion played the role perfectly IMO.  His age didn't factor into it for me, not once did I see him on screen and think "nah too old".  But he's not meant to be nuanced, and let's be fair this is a blockbuster superhero movie, nuance isn't a thing.

[FloatingFatMan]

On 22/07/2025 at 10:35, Nik Louch said:

I get where you're coming from by Fillion played the role perfectly IMO.  His age didn't factor into it for me, not once did I see him on screen and think "nah too old".  But he's not meant to be nuanced, and let's be fair this is a blockbuster superhero movie, nuance isn't a thing.

To be completely honest, the wig/hairdo distracted me from everything Fillion was doing as GL...

[hellowalkman Reporter]

 

[PsYcHoKiLLa]

On 22/07/2025 at 13:14, FloatingFatMan said:

To be completely honest, the wig/hairdo distracted me from everything Fillion was doing as GL...

Mop Top

[Matthew S.]

What in the actual ... was this crap, just saw this tonight, good zodd wtf...

[PsYcHoKiLLa]

On 04/08/2025 at 07:46, Matthew S. said:

What in the actual ... was this crap, just saw this tonight, good zodd wtf...

Yeah I wasn't impressed either.

Muddled story that went all over the place.
They made him look weak, Superman got beat up by pretty much every single baddie in the movie.
Multiple jokes that were driven into the ground, we get it.

[Innervisions33]

I'm kinda surprised no one has talked about this yet:

 

Spoiler

So he, presumably, kills a guy at the end... wasn't that one of the big things people hated about Man of Steel?