James Gunn's Superman has released its first trailer, and Gunn's Superman has one huge shared trait with Zack Snyder's.
James Gunn's Superman has a surprising commonality with Zack Snyder's version of the Last Son of Krypton. The new Superman movie released its first trailer, providing a glimpse into the world of James Gunn's DCU and David Corenswet's Man of Steel. Gunn himself has cited numerous influences on his Superman movie, including Zack Snyder's work on 2013's Man of Steel.
Indeed, the Superman trailer showcases some unexpected similarities in tone and feel to Snyder's much-debated take on Superman. However, perhaps the most prominent Snyderverse similarity seen in the Superman trailer is how the public perceives David Corenswet's Superman in a manner not unlike Henry Cavill's Superman, as seen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The Superman trailer shows David Corenswet's Man of Steel experiencing a surprising amount of hardship and difficulty. Some of it takes a physical form, as seen in Superman falling into the Arctic wounded and needing his super-dog's help to get home. But more noticeably, Superman is not a warmly0embraced hero in the trailer for Gunn's movie, and seems to be dealing with a fair amount of public backlash and skepticism.
This is most prominently seen when Superman is jeered at by an angry crowd of people, with one man even throwing a can at his head. Superman seeks refuge from the furious mob inside an infamous DCU company's building, while Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) and other heroes come to his defense, suggests this is a Superman who is struggling with his public perception.
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Zack Snyder previously tackled the idea of the public being divided on Superman in the 2013 reboot Man of Steel, with Henry Cavill's Superman revealing himself to the world when General Zod (Michael Shannon) launches an invasion to terraform Earth into a new Krypton. The tremendous destruction of Superman's battle against General Zod and his Kryptonian army leaves the world sharply divided on whether Superman can be trusted, with Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) being particularly worried about Superman's potential to "burn the whole place down."
Cavill's Superman fights an even greater battle against a heavily divided human populace in Batman v Superman, and it's only through his sacrifice to save the world from a literal Doomsday monster that humanity comes to finally see him as an ally. It also inspires Batman to team up with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to form Zack Snyder's Justice League, with the team eventually reviving Superman to stop an invasion from the war-mongering planet Apokolips, led by Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds). In the end, Henry Cavill's Superman overcomes Makind's initial fears and is fully revered as a hero. However, the reasons for Corenswet's Superman experiencing such distrust could be quite different.
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While Man of Steel tells the origin story of Henry Cavill's Superman, James Gunn's Superman begins with Corenswet's Last Son of Krypton having already been a public hero for some time. This suggests that the population of Earth has had a chance to get acclimated to living in a Superman world, and also indicates that the backlash Corenswet's Superman faces is a development that occurs during the film, rather than something that is the status quo from the start.
As to what could have caused Corenswet's Superman to face a public that is growing distrustful of and furious with him: It could come as the result of a failed mission on Superman's part, or some level of collateral damage that the public holds Superman responsible for. Nicolas Hoult's Lex Luthor could also be launching a smear campaign against Superman that turns a large percentage of the public against him. Whatever the case, the trailer for James Gunn's Superman makes it clear that David Corenswet and Henry Cavill's Supermen share a major commonality in both having to face a public that views them with distrust and hatred. The major difference could come in how Corenswet's Superman faces the challenge of convincing the world that he's here to protect them.