American superhero film Superman is out now in theatres.
Superman Clark Kent (David Corenswet) finds himself on a journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his adoptive human family on earth.
When he gets drawn into conflicts, his actions are questioned, providing tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) an opportunity to get Clark out of the way for good.
Written and directed by James Gunn, the second reboot of the Superman film series is set to be the first in the DC Universe, produced by DC Studios, a newly created production entity under Warner Brothers Discovery, co-chaired by James and producer Peter Safran, dissolving its predecessor DC Films in 2022.
The reconstruction came after a number of DC Films productions, including Justice League (2017), were not received positively, as well as the cancellation of the highly-anticipated Batgirl movie, which was initially scheduled for a 2022 release.
In an interview, James, who is known for directing other superhero films including Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, said he took a lighter approach to the DC Comics superhero – the previous Superman films and appearances had a grittier approach.
“In some ways, it’s lighter. But there’s a lot of heavy stuff in the movie as well,” James explained.
“I loved the colour and the joy of the comic books that I enjoyed growing up with, and I wanted to imbue this film with that feeling.
“He’s (Clark) from a non-dysfunctional family, he has parents who love him, he’s growing up in a loving household with support and emotional presence from his parents, and he’s the result of that.
“And I think that he’s a pretty well-adjusted guy because of that. However, he has his flaws as well,” he added.