By Rollo Ross
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Actor David Corenswet feels a connection with the classic DC comic book character Superman that he portrays in the 2025 James Gunn directed film “Superman.”
The character Superman is known in the comic books for his identity problems, namely his double life as both a powerful superhero while also being an awkward reporter named Clark Kent who works at “Daily Planet.”
Corenswet is the latest actor to don the blue and red suit on the big screen, and he is still processing the weight of his new identity as the superhero.
“As far as the moments of it hitting me that I’m playing Superman, I think saying the sentence out loud is the closest I get,” he told Reuters.
“But it still just sounds so ridiculous to me to say it out loud that, you know, it doesn’t quite compute,” he added.
“Superman,” which arrives in U.S. movie theaters on Friday, follows Superman as he gets drawn into international politics as well as crossing swords with his billionaire nemesis Lex Luthor, played by Nicholas Hoult, monsters and other superpowered beings.
The film has received high acclaim from early reviews on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes with a 88% rating.
“What’s best about Gunn’s movie is its laser-focused on relatable characters. This is no puzzle piece in a universe or a loud series of action set pieces,” Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post wrote.
There was something special in Superman’s wardrobe that brought Corenswet closer to the character.
“The cape is the feeling that sort of pulls the whole thing together,” he said.
“When you walk in to the soundstage and you feel the cape billowing behind you, or you come to a stop in the cape, sort of twirls around you a little bit, you see your shadow on the wall and the silhouette of the cape, that’s the sort of like,” Corenswet said.
“And I don’t know whether it’s because I always wanted to be a Jedi growing up, but man, I can’t recommend the cape enough,” he added.
For Wendell Pierce, who plays the “Daily Planet” editor Perry White, the movie goes past its fantastical elements and reminds people that Superman is still relatable.
“That’s the thing that we learned from Superman, that his true superpower is humanity,” he said, emphasizing Clark Kent’s life as a working journalist.
“Superman” is the first film of the new Warner Bros and DC Universe partnership, led by Gunn.
Upcoming projects include “Supergirl” and R-Rated horror film “Clayface”.
Anthony Corrigan, who plays Superman’s ally Metamorpho, who can transform his body into any element, said that Gunn didn’t just rely on Superman’s popularity to engage audiences.
“If it’s the right story, you know, it’s not just resting on the IP and on the character, it actually has to have a vision and creative vision,” he said, emphasizing Gunn’s dedication to only make movies out of good screenplays.
(Reporting by Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway;Editing by Mary Milliken and Nick Zieminski)
Comments