James Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie is already one of the most talked-about films on the 2025 movie schedule. Fans have very strong opinions about just how Superman should be portrayed on screen, including what he should wear. James Gunn also has strong feelings about Superman’s looks, specifically his trunks.
The classic Superman look includes red trunks over blue tights. While it’s the traditional way the Man of Steel was portrayed, it’s a look that is seen as dated and corny by a lot of fans. James Gunn has previously said he was against trunks. However, in a new interview with Fandango, star David Corenswet clarifies that Gunn actually wanted a look with trunks. He said…
You wanted trunks in theory. You liked the idea of trunks.
The issue wasn’t that James Gunn was against the idea of trunks entirely. Quite the opposite. He actually was very much in favor of putting Superman in the classic trunks. Gunn’s Superman is clearly designed to harken back to the version of the character from decades ago, and so he wanted a look that reflected that. The director said…
Theoretically, I liked the idea of trunks because it's the Superman I grew up with.
The issue, it seems, is that while James Gunn was in favor of trunks in theory, he couldn’t find a look that he thought worked in practice. The Guardians of the Galaxy director had previously said they tried lots of different looks, and he couldn’t find one that he didn’t think looked silly.
This is when David Corenswet suggested that, maybe, looking silly was the point. The Superman actor said…
But the problem is, they look kind of silly. You were looking for a way to make them look cool or you were looking for a function, and explanation for having them. And my thing was just, maybe they're supposed to look a little silly. Maybe the reason he wears them is to look a little silly, basically to undermine how powerful he really is.
It’s certainly an interesting way to approach Superman, but it’s one that James Gunn seemingly embraced. One thing that the previous version of Superman certainly embraced is that, while the Man of Steel is a hero, he has the capability to be quite scary, so in this case, Superman chooses to dress a little silly as a way to put humanity at ease. Gunn said…
In this version of the DCU, everyone knows he's an alien. He shoots beams out of his eyes. He can blow things down with his breath. He's sort of this terrifying creature, but he really likes kids and human beings and people. And he wants kids not to be afraid of him, and so that was the thing that made me decide to keep the trunks.
So while some may not like the classic Superman look because they think it looks silly, it seems you’ll get no disagreement from the people who made Superman. It does look silly, and that’s the point.
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