James Gunn Explains Why Superman Would Try to Save Hitler
James Gunn isn’t shying away from bold ideas in his vision of Superman. During a recent conversation on the Armchair Expert podcast, the DC Studios co-CEO unpacked the moral spine of the Man of Steel, and that includes a hypothetical scenario where Superman would try to save Hitler.
Let’s back up. Gunn was talking with hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman about Superman’s rigid no-kill code and how that shapes the upcoming film. Gunn made it clear: “He’s an idealist… never kill no matter what.”
That’s when Shepard chimed in, “Maybe you don’t save Hitler?” Gunn replied, “He’d probably save Hitler.” Shepard followed up with, “He would have to. That’s his code.”
It’s a deeper reflection on what separates Superman from other superheroes. Gunn emphasized that this Superman doesn’t believe in picking who gets to live or die, no matter how evil someone is.
“[Superman] believes… very distinctly that you cannot let people die if you have the opportunity to stop it from… no matter what.”
To drive the point home, Gunn referenced the famous trolley problem, the ethical thought experiment where a person must choose between saving five people or one.
In Gunn’s words, “The thing with the… if there’s a train coming at five people… he would figure [out a way to save all of them].”
That’s the version of Superman Gunn wants to spotlight in his film… a principled, optimistic alien trying to do the right thing in a messy world.
“Superman is Superman. He’s a good-natured guy who’s an alien, and it’s got the same backstory as everybody else.” But this time, he’s honing in on a chapter we haven’t seen before. “I wanted to focus on a moment in his life that we hadn’t really focused on… his early career as Superman and as Clark Kent.”
Gunn didn’t elaborate further on the Hitler example, it was more a test case to explore the limits of Superman’s code. Still, it’s a telling glimpse into how the filmmaker is thinking about what makes this character tick.
Love or hate the comparison, it’s clear Gunn isn’t watering down the philosophical stakes of bringing Superman to life.