James Gunn Promises ‘Superman’ Less Jokey Than ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Trilogy: “That’s Not A Guy Who’s Angry Or Covering Up His Emotions, He’s Pretty Pure”
In an assurance that will admittedly need to be seen to believed, DCU boss James Gunn says that his upcoming Superman film will handle its emotional moments with far more sincerity than his past Guardians of the Galaxy outings, especially as he recognizes that the Man of Steel is a far more pure-hearted character compared to the likes of someone like Star-Lord or Rocket Raccoon.
Speaking with Rolling Stone‘s Brian Hiatt ahead of Superman‘s release, Gunn was asked at the top of their time together, “It occurred to me that this particular version of Superman needed a certain version of you and a certain version of the audience. Could 2010 James Gunn have made this film?”
In turn, the director straight-forwardly admitted, “I don’t think the 2020 James could.”
“Everybody knows I was offered Superman in 2018,” he recalled. “They also talked to me about Batman earlier than that, but I was in the middle of Guardians 3. If they had come to me in 2018 with Batman, I would’ve said yes. But, yeah, I just couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.”
Pressed as to what he believed “had to change” in order for him to do justice to Superman’s character, Gunn recalled, “I needed the right way in. And that required time to think through a few thousand options before I got to the way that I thought worked.”
“But I do also think that my life, and career, has been a gradual softening of the edges,” he added. “I still like black comedy. I still have edges. But I used to like provoking a lot. And today, although I still seem to do it, I don’t really like doing that. In my heart, I’m pretty sentimental. I just believe in basic human values. I think Guardians of the Galaxy was a good starter kit for that.”
RELATED: James Gunn Doesn’t Just Omit “The American Way” In ‘Superman’ – He Changes It To “The Human Way”
Continuing in his reflection, Gunn asserted, “[The Guardians of the Galaxy films] have a lot of heart, but they do have their own weirdness and oddities and edginess, and Superman isn’t that, even though he does from the outside have a lot of oddness.”
“A flying dog in a cape is odd,” he explained. “Giant walking robots, and kaijus — that’s all odd. But the very-good nature of him, this really strong belief in what’s right, sometimes perhaps to a fault, is what makes Superman who he is. And that is not Star-Lord or Rocket.”
“That’s not a guy who’s angry or covering up his emotions,” Gunn further noted of the Last Son of Krypton’s character. “He’s pretty pure. And so getting to the place where I could write that character was a journey. In the past I would’ve done it through making fun of the character, and I don’t think that’s what I do here. I’m less afraid now than I used to be. I allow myself to be purely creative more than I used to. And I thought I was being purely creative, but a lot of times it was just anger releasing itself in another way. I’m less afraid of being goofy or sentimental, or boring or straight.”
Subsequently met with the observation from Hiatt that “there’s a very grounded interview scene between Lois and Clark that seems like new territory for you,” the director admitted, “That’s a huge thing for me. I have long talking scenes in Guardians, but they are stuffed with jokes. And that’s not the case here.”
“There’s funny stuff that happens in that scene, but it’s all situational,” he detailed. “And so allowing myself to write that scene, which is truly about two characters and the different ways they see the world and morality.”
Finally pressed as whether or not his past self would have “had the impulse to make that [scene] more jokey,” Gunn bluntly confirmed, “Yeah. Horror movies and comedies are so comforting to a filmmaker, because if they’re working, the audience is reacting constantly. Even, like, people crying at the end of Guardians 3. But it’s also a rather selfish thing as a filmmaker.”
“Because I’m not making something so that I can sit in an audience and be happy; I’m making something that really works on a fundamental level,” he concluded. “So I have to be willing to sit there with an audience and not know if they’re liking it or not.”
With less than a month to go, Superman is currently set to make landfall on July 11th.
More About:Movies