In 2022, James Gunn and Peter Safran were named co-CEOs of DC Studios, and the duo decided to reboot the entire universe. It took some time to get things started, as fans have recently been treated to a teaser of what’s to come in the upcoming DC Universe with the release of Creature Commandos Season 1, but it’s his upcoming Superman film that will decide the success of the new franchise.

Gunn, who wrote and directed 2025’s Superman, previously explained that the new story will not tell the origin stories again. Superman is among the most famous superhero characters of all time of all comic book characters, and his story has been told in multiple adaptations. In advance of the upcoming teaser trailer release on Thursday, Dec. 19, during a set visit attended by CBR and other outlets, James Gunn explained that he is taking a new approach to the character, and he even breaks a Man of Steel trend with the upcoming superhero film’s opening scene.

During the conversation, it was brought up how Superman, played by David Corenswet, comes flying in during the opening scene. Unlike other Man of Steel films, which set up Clark Kent’s story or offered a flashback or references to previous entries, Gunn wanted to start in the middle of the action, also revealing that the film takes place over “a short” time.

We just start in the middle of the action.

“Yeah, I mean, it was about really putting us in the middle of the action from the beginning,” the filmmaker explained. “And there’s a lot of these things in this movie now that I’ve been making it for over a year that I think of as normal. But now when you bring it up, I go, oh yeah, that’s pretty unusual.”

Gunn teased, “We just start in the middle of the action. Superman’s already existing. Lois and Clark already know each other. Lex hates Superman’s guts from the beginning, although they don’t know each other personally. So we start right in the middle of the action. It takes place over a short amount of time.”

Gunn recently clarified again he’s not telling the origin story for either Superman or the upcoming Batman movie The Brave and the Bold, explaining, “I’m not telling Batman and Superman’s origin stories again because everyone knows them.” The filmmaker has been pointing out the same idea for a long time, as he told a different fan on Bluesky in 2023, telling the fan in question, “I think we’ve seen his origin enough in film at this time!”

James Gunn Previously Shared the Inspiration for His Superman

Superman is one of 2025’s most anticipated titles, and it will come with a lot of pressure considering it’s a character fans already know and love. So far, many actors have put on the cape of the iconic superhero, including Henry Cavill, Tyler Hoechlin, Tom Welling, Brandon Routh, and Christopher Reeve, among others.

While Gunn wants to give the DCU a fresh start, he’s also not ignoring the legacy of previous characters. In 2023, the filmmaker explained how he drew inspiration from Christopher Reeves’ Man of Steel for his upcoming superhero. “There’s this playfulness about Superman, when he’s saving a cat, he’s got that wry smile. And that is one of the best parts of the movie is the playfulness of Superman. He enjoys what he’s doing. He likes helping human beings and he likes saving them.”

He explained, “I’m definitely influenced by what [director Richard] Donner did with Superman, and what Christopher Reeve did with Superman, and Margot Kidder, who’s fantastic in the movie. She’s really the heart of it in a lot of ways.”

Superman will fly to theaters on July 11, 2025.