We’re coming up on the two-year anniversary of when Barbie and Oppenheimer took the cinema world by storm with the phenomenon known as Barbenheimer. When it came to the latter movie, one of the ways Christopher Nolan’s epic biographical film about Manhattan Project director J. Robert Oppenheimer collected attention was with its massive cast. Similar cast size comments have been voiced about James Gunn’s Superman, but the filmmaker used Oppenheimer as part of his explanation for why fans shouldn’t be concerned about this.
In three weeks and change, Superman will move from the upcoming DC movies slate to the 2025 movies schedule, officially kicking off the theatrical side of the DC Universe franchise. During an interview with Esquire Philippines, Gunn was asked if he was “concerned about dropping audiences in the middle of a fully-formed world already filled with superheroes and supervillains.” He answered:
No, not really, because I’ve already screened the movie for so many people and saw that people aren’t confused. So I know from fact that it’s not confusing, but I think that we’re used to seeing movies with protagonists, and Superman is definitely the protagonist of Superman. And he has his work friends and he has his play friends. Now I don’t know if the Justice Gang are his play friends or his work friends, if the Daily Planet are his work friends or his play friends, but that’s the two groups of his friends from different places.
So even setting aside the fact that James Gunn has seen firsthand that audiences who’ve watched Superman early aren’t bothered by its large cast, he doesn’t see this as an issue strictly from a character perspective. Superheroes like Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific and Metamorpho certainly help tease the larger DCU world that’s not directly connected to DC Comics’ Man of Steel. However, they’re ultimately being used in service to this story that remains focused on David Corenswet’s version of Superman, just like his co-workers at The Daily Planet when he’s Clark Kent. Gunn continued:
And just because they have insignias on their costumes or superpowers doesn’t mean they’re not like any supporting character in any movie. I think Oppenheimer has three times as many speaking roles as we do. So I think people are fine.
Oppenheimer did indeed prove that, as leading actors like Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. were joined by many actors in minor roles, including Jack Quaid, Josh Peck, Matthew Modine and Gary Oldman. There were a lot of faces to keep track of, but that didn’t hinder Christopher Nolan’s first movie for Universal Pictures from earning critical acclaim and making over $975 million worldwide. If Oppenheimer can succeed with such a large cast, James Gunn believes that Superman doesn’t have anything to worry about anything with a smaller, yet still sizable lineup of players.
Superman flies into theaters on July 11, though you only need to break out your Max subscription and stream Creature Commandos if you want to take your first steps into the DCU. Those who are now in the mood to revisit Oppenheimer can do so with a Peacock subscription, and don’t forget that Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey comes out on July 17, 2026.
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