James Gunn Drew Inspiration From ‘Godzilla Minus One’ When Making ‘Superman’: “At Its Core Is A Human Story”
Superman has some big shoes to fill in the realm of DC movies alone, but no one would have expected that James Gunn was trying to measure up to a different kind of franchise in a completely disparate genre. He hopes his film resembles Godzilla Minus One in the way it balances the monsters and heroes with the human story.
“My goal is to make a film that depicts Godzilla like Godzilla Minus One but also has a great human drama,” Gunn said to Japan’s Cinema Today (via Comicbook.com). “Superman and the flying dog (Krypto) also appear in this film, but at its core is a human story. The relationship between Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and (villain) Lex Luthor is at the core of the work.”
The big fire-breathing kaiju the Man of Steel fights (featured prominently in the trailer and the first teaser) kind of gives this away. So are Lois, Clark, Lex, and the myriads of ways they interact, especially Clark and Lois during her mock interview with him as Superman, which gets pointed and a little uncomfortable.
It’s customary for a Godzilla movie to sideline the big guy for most of the proceedings to focus on the humans. Often they are too boring or generic to care about, and fans just want to get to the action yesterday. However, Takashi Yamazaki delivered the strongest human characters and most compelling arcs ever seen in the series.
This translated into big business for Toho worldwide and Gojira’s first Oscar win for special effects. It was a little easier for them to make their money back, though, especially compared to Warner Bros. and DC Studios.
Superman is another big-budget blockbuster they are betting everything on (and maybe even mortgaging a few houses for). The film cost beyond $200 million and some projections suggest – if only speculatively – it has to gross between $700M and $800M to break even and be successful.
Reports from test screenings, and of a trimming of some content to balance out the tone, aren’t inspiring confidence with everyone. That doesn’t mean the film is in trouble necessarily, but it has a bigger hill to climb than Godzilla Minus One, which still shocked the world when it became a massive hit.
Gunn’s DCU will chug along for a little bit more regardless of what happens with Superman, but the film is not guaranteed a sequel. Yamazaki on the other hand is developing a sequel to Minus One as Toho is pleased with his work, and believes his creative direction has long-term value.
Yamazaki caught wind of Gunn’s remarks and was touched. “Yeah, I’m a little teary-eyed,” he reportedly said.
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