By Aidan O’Connor | Staff Writer
The weight of the world is once again on Superman’s shoulders. With superhero fatigue and declining box office numbers, James Gunn’s “Superman” film has the chance to revive the superhero genre or sink it further into mediocrity.
“Superman” is the start of the new DCU and the character’s first solo movie since 2013’s “Man of Steel.” The pressure upon this movie is tremendous, as how successful it is will decide whether the new DC Universe under Gunn and Peter Safran will survive. Warner Bros. cannot have another failure in the DC franchise and after the box office and critical failings of the Snyderverse, the “Gunnverse” could be the final hope for DC.
Along with carrying the weight of a cinematic universe, “Superman” also plays a pivotal role in the market of superhero movies. Marvel has dominated the superhero genre and virtually had no competition the last couple of years, leading to stagnation. This lack of effort by Marvel and their quantity over quality approach has not gone well with audiences, as outside of a few outliers, box office numbers are down considerably. “Captain Marvel” made over $1.1 billion worldwide whereas “The Marvels” made only $199 million worldwide. Even with the same characters and only being released four years apart, the fatigue and decline in interest can be seen.
“Superman” could fix both problems listed above because if it succeeds, then DC will have a new cinematic universe challenging Marvel to up their game and return to their old form. Now the big question is, does Gunn and the cast have what it takes to make this movie a hit?
From all the information currently out about Gunn’s film, it looks like they do. Everything points to the film going back to the character’s roots as an altruistic boy scout. This fact was sorely missed by Zach Snyder and his movies as they portrayed him more as a Greek godlike figure than a farm boy from Kansas. Superman appeals to those around the world not because of his powers but because of his humanity.
“I really love the idea of Superman,” Gunn said. “He’s a big ol’ galoot. He’s a farm boy from Kansas who’s very idealistic. His greatest weakness is that he’ll never kill anybody. He doesn’t want to hurt a living soul. I like that sort of innate goodness about Superman; it’s his defining characteristic.”
The first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies were able to capture the altruist that Superman is perfectly, and Gunn along with the cast have cited his portrayal as a major inspiration. From the brighter suit, the nerdy way Clark Kent behaves, the bright colors of the movie and the Top Gun Maverick riff on John Williams iconic Superman theme, Gunn is carrying over what makes the character so iconic and successful.
With the first official trailer breaking a DC and Warner Bros. record with the most views in a 24-hour period and over 250 million viewers, people are certainly interested. It was able to draw people in the same way as the Reeve movies were.
If the success of the trailer and overall interest is anything to go by, Gunn’s adaptation looks like it is going to reinvigorate interest in superhero movies once again and make us believe that a man can fly.
