James Gunn Explains The Balance Of Sadness And Hope In His Superman Movie [Exclusive Interview]

This movie has such a wonderful message of staying true to yourself and being your own person. I love seeing that because it really feels like I saw you in it, and what you want to say about these characters and what they mean to you. What was that process like for you, getting that into this movie? Did it feel freeing, in terms of being the boss so you can put whatever you want in there? Or was it like, “I still feel the responsibility to the character, to the legacy,” that sort of thing?

Definitely, I still felt the responsibility of the characters. And the truth is, is that I’ve made a lot of movies now, really since “Guardians [of the Galaxy] 1,” where I was able to do whatever I wanted. I’ve never had a problem with doing what I wanted in any of the “Guardians” movies or “The Suicide Squad” or whatever. So that hasn’t really been an issue.

I think it was a matter of really being true to Superman, finding an aspect of Superman that maybe we haven’t seen before, so focusing on him as a person a little bit more. At the end of the day, this is a movie about all the pyrotechnics and action and all that, but at the center of it, it’s really a story about Superman finding out something about himself, not knowing how to deal with it, and then finding a way through that emotional distress. And that’s something that I don’t feel like has been in a movie before, or a TV show. I think that was what was exciting to me.

Your movies are known for having great ensembles and being team movies, so to speak. While this isn’t technically a team movie, watching the film, I felt this is still an ensemble because Superman’s on everyone’s team. What was it like giving everybody a moment to shine in this movie while still keeping Superman, Lois, and Lex the focus?

Well, that’s just because I love those characters. I love Guy Gardner. I love Mr. Terrific. I love Lois Lane. I love Cat Grant. I love these characters from the comics, and so giving them each a little bit of a moment, [like with] Metamorpho, and looking at them in a different way maybe than they’ve normally been [seen]. Guy is very true to the comics. Mr. Terrific is pretty true to the comics. Metamorpho is a little more haunted. Really, it was fun because I’m simply a fan of those characters in the comics.