James Gunn Explains the Circumstances Where His Superman Might Kill Someone
James Gunn’s Superman is finally here, and it’s looking like the DCU is off to a strong start. With David Corenswet donning the cape and a stacked cast including Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, and Nathan Fillion, this rebooted take on the Man of Steel already is very different, brighter, more hopeful, and a little weirder. But don’t assume that means Gunn is softening Superman’s edges completely.
At a recent Wired Q&A, Gunn was asked directly about whether his Superman would ever kill. After reading a card that asked, “Why doesn’t Superman kill?”, Gunn turned to Corenswet but answered the question himself:
“I believe he believes in a basic right to life. I mean, I think that’s just not in him.”
However, Gunn quickly followed up with some added complexity:
“I think that if, for instance, he had to kill to protect somebody’s life, he would probably do that, even though that would be hard for him.”
So no, we’re not likely to see a trigger-happy Kryptonian, but Gunn is leaving the door open for morally grey situations where Superman might make an impossible choice.
This echoes the divisive moment in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, where Henry Cavill’s Superman kills General Zod to save innocent lives. Snyder stood by that decision in a GQ interview last year, arguing:
“Zod wasn’t going to stop. He would fight [Superman] until either he killed him or Superman killed Zod… If Superman can’t handle that position, then he’s fake… He had to address the scenarios that come to him. He doesn’t get to pick and choose when something is outside of your morality.”
Whether you love or hate that moment, Gunn seems to be acknowledging a similar reality. This new Superman may face choices with no clean outcomes. It’s not about abandoning his values. It’s about what happens when those values are pushed to the brink.
Interestingly, Corenswet himself has expressed interest in exploring a darker path for the character in future projects. In a previous interview, he said he’d love to see his Superman in an R-rated setting.
That doesn’t mean we’re heading toward a hyper-violent Superman movie, but in the world Gunn is building, it’s clear that even the most virtuous hero might face the kind of dilemma that makes him question everything.