DC Studios co-CEO and writer-director James Gunn revealed the new costume for his upcoming DCU reboot movie Superman, in the first film photo of actor David Corenswet as the titular hero.
David Corenswet suits up to save the day again in "Superman."
The photo (all in-camera by Jess Miglio during production of Superman, Gunn noted) conveys several things at once. So, let’s break down what it’s telling us.
The New Uniform
First and most important, it gives us a look at the new costume for this rebooted Superman, telling us that we’re in for a largely comics-accurate design. It’s got a few tweaks to modernize it, but it’s the traditional blue costume with red trunks, red cape, red boots, yellow belt, and the iconic red and yellow “S” on his chest.
This new costume isn’t designed to appear skin-tight like the spandex-type suit worn in most of the hero’s previous live-action iterations, including the padded and sprayed musculature of Henry Cavill’s recent incarnation in the recently-ended DCEU franchise (including Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and Black Adam).
Those all looked good or even great in their own contexts, but Gunn’s Superman is attempting a whole new rebranding and modernization of the DC live-action cinematic world, and Superman wears a uniform that is sturdy and protective, yet form-fitting and streamlined for maneuverability. It’s like a mix between an athlete’s uniform for contact sports, and a worker’s protective uniform for a dangerous labor-intensive job.
Working Class (Super)Hero
This feeds into the second thing we notice about the photo — He’s sitting down, putting on his boots. Why? Because most photo reveals of a new Superman tend to be action poses, be it flying or in the midst of a battle or in flight. This time, we see Superman out of that context, or at least partially out of it.
What context is it instead? It’s home, or some semblance of what represents his personal life and home for Clark (Lois’ flat, maybe, or an empty office at the Daily Planet, or his actual own apartment).
This is both Clark and Superman, transitioning between them — he’s putting on his work boots, getting ready at home to go right back to work. The suit is slightly dirty, maybe burned, so we know he just got off work and now has to go right back in again. He doesn’t want to, but he does it because he always shows up when he’s needed. Out his window we see... well, whatever THAT is (and I’ll get to that in a moment), it clearly requires Superman’s presence.
We see both worlds, both men, all wrapped up in a single shot. This is working-class-hero Superman. It’s different from any introduction we’ve had to him before, instantly a relatable Clark and relatable Superman, down to Earth so to speak but not anchored there. Best of both worlds — Man of Steel meets Superman: The Movie.
The Man of Steel's logo is revealed in first teaser image for "Superman."
The Threat Outside
Now, what the heck is happening outside? That appears to be The Carrier, the flying spacecraft and home base of super-team The Authority. The Authority are part of the upcoming slate of DCU reboot movies, and they clearly make their first appearance in Gunn’s Superman.
Are they attacking Metropolis? Or fighting some villainous force that’s attacking Metropolis? Maybe they are simply arriving to request Superman’s help on something, but are attacked out of fear by... who exactly are they fighting?
Well, that’s an awfully green blast hitting The Carrier on the righthand side and lighting it up. Seems like someone is out of our sight behind the frame of Clark’s window there. Or, hear me out, that next window pane is intentionally left blank because there’s going to be some post-production CGI to include the “mysterious source” (aka Green Lantern) responsible for that green blast.
Or it’s just a trick of the light and not a green blast at all, and no semi-surprise green lantern. Except it’s totally Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, right? It’s got to be. The only question is whether he’s shooting a green blast at The Carrier, or is near the carrier shooting a blast at something behind it. My guess is the former. If it’s him.
The Big Picture
So besides introducing us to both Clark and Superman, in a setting representing both his personal life and his superhero exploits, divided yet overlapping, and the arrival in the distance of a band of anti-heroes who appear to be in a fight with one of Superman’s allies, all of whom represent a larger fantastical world and universe beyond Earth which is now intruding upon the down to Earth sensibilities of Clark’s life and modern American city.
The image also helps spark some controversy among fans because of the very bold and explicit choices it makes for what to include and what not to include, from the costume design (yes to red trunks, no to fake skin-tight suits with spray-on muscles) to the framing of both Clark Kent’s and Superman’s lives as distinct yet really one and the same, no matter how much he struggles to keep them separate.
This is terrific marketing and messaging, a photo rich with subtext and information that isn’t necessarily all consciously apparent at first glance. It’s a mature, thoughtful expression of character that tells me I’m correct in trusting Gunn’s instincts and intentions with Superman’s characterization.
The Legacy
I’ve loved many if not most iterations of Superman, my favorite to date being Christopher Reeve in Superman: The Movie, as well as having lots of love for Tyler Hoechlin in Superman & Lois, Cavill in the DCEU, Tom Welling in Smallville, and Brandon Routh in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Reeve was generally perfect in my opinion, and the rest brought great aspects to their portrayals and had iconic moments of their own.
David Corenswet looks amazing in the costume, and generally has the right look and feel to play both Clark and Superman. He looks friendly, and he looks kind. He also worked out extensively and got physically huge for the role — he’s actually a little bit taller than actor Henry Cavill and got as heavy with muscle as Cavill did for the role of Superman in Man of Steel. He’s a wonderful and charming performer who typically enjoys great chemistry with other actors. In Gunn’s hands, I feel Corenswet’s Superman will win over audiences worldwide.
Fans can love different versions that do different things with our favorite characters. It’s not necessary to think that just because one particular version of story is your favorite, that you must therefore reject the value or greatness of some other versions and stories. Other great things existing doesn’t diminish the greatness of things we love — that’s such a simple sentiment, it shouldn’t be necessary to even say it, let alone explain it, but fans being fans these are the debates that costume reveals inevitably always lead to.
Hopefully, fans who are currently furious over the fact this new costume has wrinkles when he bends, or that we see him putting on footwear, or whatever else might somehow bother them about it, will eventually come to see that it’s exactly what it should be — Superman, in a Superman costume, getting ready to save the world again. Because that’s what he does. That’s his legacy. Always.
