The path that led James Gunn to become responsible for the future of the DC universe on the big screen has been long and unexpected.

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Lee este artículo en español.

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The most significant events of that day seem to be the success he had with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for Marvel and the moment when Disney decided to dispense with his services due to old comments he posted on social media.

However, it is important to note that two decades ago, Gunn was collaborating with Zack Snyder as a screenwriter on the remake of “Dawn of the Dead,” and ten years later, he was directing “Super,” a dark comedy about a superhero with good intentions and zero superpowers.

This week, Gunn officially leaves behind what Snyder did with DC’s most important characters with the release of Superman, a film that retains its particular humor while reexamining the intentions behind the titular character’s heroic acts. During the press conference in Los Angeles to promote Superman’s return to theaters, the director spoke with El Nuevo Día about his creative process to achieve a more realistic version of the superhero.

One of the central themes of the film is having the autonomy to decide who you want to be. That allows us to step into this character’s shoes in a very particular way that hasn’t been seen on screen before. What was the process like as a screenwriter and director in making that decision to create your version of Superman?

JG- The whole process of making this film has been extremely exciting, but it has also been a journey fraught with fear and anxiety. I’m sure I’ve never carried so much tension and nerves while working on a film. That’s something I had to deal with. But the creative process requires you to let go of all those feelings, and that’s something I can do easily. That freed me up to make a Superman who was as real as possible. If this character really existed, how would he feel? What would his weaknesses be? What are his fears? How would he excel, and in what situations would he fail? Knowing that this was what I wanted to explore in this story allowed me to have a very personal experience making this film. And then you add all the fun of the action, having a hero who flies and has these epic fights with monsters.

The film is very clever in how it deals with our expectations of this character. What was the process like of dealing with the expectations of the actor who plays this version of Superman?

JG- Working with David (Corenswet) was a very rewarding experience. He had a lot of questions for me. He needs to understand everything about the script in order to give his interpretation. But I don’t think he came in with any notion of what Superman is supposed to be. But honestly, it took him a while to understand what I was trying to do with the script and the essence of this version of the character. So every day he had a thousand questions for me. Both he and Rachel (Brosnahan) are actors who question everything.

The look on your face when you said that was priceless. Was it difficult for you to deal with all those questions?

JG (laughing) I wasn’t used to it. Maybe Kurt Russell asked me a question or two when we were filming the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy, but I guess I was spoiled by Chris Pratt or John Cena, who do exactly what I say and don’t ask me anything. (Smiles) But I have to admit that I appreciate having had this dynamic with Rachel and David. What they did was enrich the process. Because we filmed my version and also explored their ideas. Being in sync with the material became much more exciting.

Now that you’ve gone through the process of creating your version of Superman, how has your vision of the character evolved since you first connected with him?

JG- My feelings about this character have definitely changed since I first connected with him. I was very young, maybe three or four years old, and I learned to read with Superman comics. So at that time, I fell in love with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. But now, the biggest change is that I understand much better what Superman represents to so many people around the world. One of the best parts of this experience, which is just beginning for me, is all the people who come up to me and let me know, with tears in their eyes, that this is the version of Superman they had always imagined and how happy they are to finally see him on the big screen.

Clark has a very interesting reaction to the comments about Superman on social media. Do you care about everything that has been said since you took on the responsibility for the DC universe on the big screen?

JG- I care because I’m an imperfect human being and things affect me. At the same time, I don’t care at all, because it will never impact the creative decisions I make with these characters. I will be able to continue creating this universe without being affected by all the noise in the industry and on social media about what we’re doing.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.