James Gunn Says Bollywood Was a Big Inspiration for SUPERMAN

It turns out James Gunn’s Superman might be soaring in a direction fans didn’t expect, straight into the vibrant, emotional, genre-blending heart of Bollywood cinema.

During a recent chat with HT City, Gunn and Lois Lane herself, Rachel Brosnahan, opened up about how Indian film culture helped shape the tone and spirit of Superman. Brosnahan said:

“Bollywood films I feel like we drew inspiration from the color and the movement.”

Now that she said it, I can actually kind of see what she’s talking about. You can especially see the color palette that's more vibrant and expressive than what we’ve seen in past DC iterations.

Gunn went a little deeper, explaining how Eastern cinema is the most important things to him when making his films.

“You know, Bollywood films and Eastern cinema in general is the most important thing to me when I’m telling stories. The thing that those films give me is that they aren’t afraid of having a movie that has heart, that has drama, but that’s also funny, has music, all of those things are beautiful. And that is what life is, right?”

If you’ve followed Gunn’s work, you already know he’s not afraid to throw tone into a blender. But it’s interesting to hear him credit Bollywood specifically as a guiding influence for how he wants Superman to feel. He added:

“Life is all of those things. Life isn’t one genre, and so that’s where I really take my inspiration for Superman, is from Bollywood movies.”

If the idea of Superman being inspired by Bollywood caught you off guard, you’re not alone. But considering how emotionally rich and unashamedly sincere Bollywood films can be, I can see why Gunn appreciates it.