Photo Courtesy of Warner Brothers
The highly-anticipated comic book film, Superman (2025), was released worldwide on July 11, 2025. After a successful box office run, the movie gained $615 million, establishing it as the #1 movie in the world in box office earnings for two weeks following its release.
Superman marks the beginning of the rebooted DC Universe, with lesser-known actors like David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan in the roles of titular character Clark Kent/Superman and love interest Lois Lane, respectively. Nicholas Hoult, a more established star, plays the film’s villain, Lex Luthor.
Formerly, Detective Comics characters were a part of the unofficially named DC Extended Universe, including films directed by Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon, and James Wan. However, this cinematic universe quickly grew to be known for its box office failures. Whether it was due to directorial conflicts in Justice League (2017), rushed CGI in The Flash (2023), or an overall race for DC Studios to catch up with the relatively better performance of Marvel Studios’ comic book universe, it was clear that the DCEU was set to fall apart.
Largely due to creative choices made by Zack Snyder, known for directing several DCEU projects, the universe became characterized by its dark visuals. The idea of the DC being dark became especially prevalent when the tone of the films became darker, with moments like the apparent death of the hopeful character Superman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
Despite including a number of well-known actors like Ben Affleck, Ezra Miller, Margot Robbie, and Jesse Eisenberg; receiving better overall reviews of the re-released director’s cut of Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021); and seeing relative successes with Shazam (2019) and The Suicide Squad (2021), the DC Extended Universe was discontinued in 2023.
Still, Warner Bros. found hope for a DC Universe reboot through director and writer James Gunn, who caught Warner Bros.’ attention following the 2021 success of The Suicide Squad, which he was hired to direct as a reboot of one of the DCEU’s largest financial and critical failures: Suicide Squad (2016). A major factor of the studio’s trust in James Gunn was his success in the comic book film world, as he directed Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. With these factors in mind, James Gunn was offered the role of Co-Chairman and CEO of DC Studios alongside film producer Peter Safran, giving him close to full creative control over the interconnected DCU to eliminate studio conflicts that played a role in the DCEU’s discontinuation.
Superman, after three years of planning, lived up to its expectations. Gunn’s distinct style, including fun dynamics between an ensemble cast and carefully-selected music, removed some of the preconceived notions of the character caused by the DCEU. Superman as a character is meant to represent a beacon of hope and overall goodness in humanity, which is clearly reflected by the vibrant colors and upbeat music throughout the film.
In a time during which many criticize comic book movie corporations like Marvel Studios for their new releases, Superman does correctly what many other comic book films have recently fallen short of. Especially in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which had been built up for so many years to conclude with Avengers: Endgame (2019), comic book movies have lost a sense of direction. The large-scale problems portrayed in these films only expanded in an attempt to regain audiences’ attention. This went on to produce a “multiverse trend,” in which comic book movie studios introduce ideas of alternate universes in which deceased characters can return in a different form. Of course, in these stories in which anything is possible, there is lots of room for unnecessary character returns that prioritize audience turnout over structural integrity of the plot and the character’s development. As a result, the term “multiverse fatigue” was created, and audience turnout for multiversal movies began to decline as public opinion favored the multiverse much less.
Granted, there have been many successful comic book multiverse stories, including Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), and the Disney+ limited series Loki (2021-2023). Still, the stigma around cosmic stories in comic book films as opposed to street-level stories has been increasingly negative for many fans. Superman, however, subverts these expectations, existing in a world with several superheroes and aliens while still having a central theme and grounded plot.
Especially among young people whose only introduction to Superman was Zack Snyder’s dark and brooding DCEU films, the character’s original message and image has been lost. As a result, actor David Corenswet’s Superman surprised audiences in moments like his rescue of a squirrel in a large-scale battle scene. As opposed to Henry Cavill’s Superman in Man of Steel (2013), Corenswet depicts Superman’s identity crisis that fuels the film after a message from his birth parents makes him question his role on Earth. Another great example of Superman’s imperfections enhancing the film’s effectiveness is during his interview scene with actress Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, in which he gets frustrated with the complexity of a political situation in which he is involved. Corenswet’s Superman, even from his elevated moral standpoint, has a great amount of power, placing him in complex situations that are more difficult to morally navigate.
A major criticism of Superman is a lack of subtlety, especially with some major plot developments. An example is the political alignment of the film, which Gunn makes obvious when Superman gives a speech about his humanity despite being an alien, alluding to debates over immigration policy. The film also includes a political conflict between two fictional nations, Boravia and Jarhanpur, which bears a striking resemblance to the Israel and Palestine conflict and the alleged genocide in Gaza. Similar criticisms were brought up in conversation regarding Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up (2021) and season 4 of Amazon’s Prime Video show, The Boys, involving the villain Homelander and his similarities with President Donald Trump. However, it must also be accounted for especially in current times that a rise in anti-intellectualism gives reason to the lack of subtlety.
The idea that “the curtains might just be blue,” in reference to the dismissal of subtext in media, has popularized the ignorance of messages and symbolism in favor of the artist creating just to create. With this in mind, I find that a more direct style in modern media should not be criticized. While nuance and subtlety may enhance a film and provide extra layers, a direct message can be justified as it plays into the current culture.
Superman is a strong start to the DCU, with future projects already being lined up such as Man of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. James Gunn, who has been active on social media to respond to fans, has confirmed that the DCU’s future will not be entirely in his hands, with creative control being given to different directors based on the different styles of the project. Next year’s Clayface film is to be directed by James Watkins, who is known for directing Speak No Evil (2024). DC Studios opted to give creative control to Watkins as his horror hit from last year is in a similar genre to the body horror genre that they hope Clayface will be. While it is early to judge the universe as a whole, it is clear with Superman that the DCU is going in the right direction.