All eyes on Superman as it takes centre stage at CinemaCon
Gill Pringle
STACK Writer
Superman flew into CinemaCon to take audiences by surprise, the Las Vegas gathering of cinema-operators being treated to an extended look at David Corenswet’s new take on the Man of Steel and his dog Krypto, ‘Superman’.
We gasped in awe as Superman dropped to Earth bloodied near the Fortress of Solitude, whistling for a superhero’s best friend Krypto, who races across a snowy landscape to jump on his wounded master.
Dragging Superman into the fortress they are greeted by robots who fix him up. Back here, the Man of Steel scolds Krypto for wrecking the joint while he was gone. The robots, who were supposed to look after him, couldn’t care less.
Asked how he got started with Superman’s reboot, DC Studios co-boss James Gunn says, “It was a long time coming,” recalling the origins of the film dating back to him being offered Superman in 2018.
Instead, he opted to tackle The Suicide Squad, explaining he was unsure how to take on the Man of Steel, who is “perceived as old-fashioned by many.” Ultimately, Gunn was invigorated not only by the character relationships, but also the chance to have fun with such elements as pocket universes and Superman’s pooch, Krypto.
“I kind of went the easier path, because that was what I knew, a group of ragtag antiheroes that was just rated R instead of PG13. So, I did that, but it stuck with me.
“So, over the years, it's just a constant thought experiment in my mind. How was I going to do Superman if I ever had the chance to do it? How can you do it? Take a character like this who's perceived as old fashioned by many, has so many different permutations of the character throughout the years. How can you do it for a modern a modern audience?” recalls the Guardians of the Galaxy director.
“And then, one day, I think it just sort of hit me like a burst, what I wanted to do in creating a story that was both utterly human and utterly fantastic at the same time. And I think the movie bounces back and forth between those two poles in a relationship that's incredibly complex and portrayed by three actors, but the relationship between Lex and Lois and then also has all the fantastic elements that we've never really seen in a Superman movie, the Flying dog, the giant kaiju, the pocket universes, and sciences, sorcery, and all these old things that were in the old Max Fleischer cartoons. So, I think that was why it took a long time to get there.”
With memories of Christopher Reeve still fresh in the public’s minds following last year’s heartbreaking award-winning documentary, Corenswet appreciates that he has a big cape to step into.
“It’s a great honour to play a role that exists so clearly in the public consciousness,” said the 31-year-old actor, whose previous credits include TV’s Lady in the Lake and The Politician, and also appearing in last year’s box office hit Twisters.
With Nicholas Hoult stepping into Lex Luther’s shoes - so memorably filled by the late Gene Hackman in the 1978 movie, the British actor quips about how he led to being cast in the role.“Well, I auditioned for Batman and Superman,” he noted, before saying how - when Gunn first offered him the role of Lex - he thought to himself, “Sh-t, that’s who I was supposed to be playing all along.”
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan takes on Lois Lane in this fascinating new cast, which also features Alan Tudyk, Isabela Merced, Nathan Fillion, and Frank Grillo.
As Clark Kent/Superman’s enduring love, Brosnahan praised the film’s universality: “I feel like these stories endure because there’s something in it for everyone. We get to stand on the shoulders of giants… and then find our ways into their heads.”
If fans will warm to this all-new Superman, then it’s clear that Krypto will become a fan favourite, DC co-chairman Peter Safran noting how the super-pooch was inspired by Gunn’s dog.
However, Gunn made it quite clear that Krypto’s real-life counterpart is far from heroic, recalling how it was love at first bite after he rescued him from a shelter a few years after his previous beloved dog had died.
“He kind of looked like my old dog on crack. I said, ‘That dog looks funny to me, and I like funny things.’ But Ozu is terrible to anyone who comes near him, and he chewed up my $8000 laptop and my shoes. I thought, ‘Oh, my God, what if this dog had superpowers? I’d be f-cked!’. And I said, ‘Now I know what I’m going to do with Superman.’”
Up, up, and away!
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