Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd Fight Killer Unicorns in New Bats**t A24 Trailer

December 19, 2024

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Mythical creatures. Movie stars. And the studio that recently gave the world The Brutalist and Sing Sing. We probably were always going to be at least a little intrigued by Death of a Unicorn, the upcoming dark comedy starring Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd that’s oh, so A24 that it even intentionally misspelled “unicorn” by […]

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It’s the moment that DC fans all over the world have been waiting for: the first trailer for James Gunn‘s Superman is here and we were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at it earlier this week on the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles, California.

As part of the first group to ever see the trailer we also got to take part in an extensive Q&A with writer/director Gunn and stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult. The in depth chat revealed many interesting tidbits about the highly anticipated film, from flying dogs to the immense size of Superman, which like your very own Lois Lane we’re excited to report right here.

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Superman is Set in an Alternate History Fantasy World

“We’re embracing all of the Superman mythology,” Gunn shared at the trailer launch event. “There’s a way that superhero movies have taken these characters and said, ‘Okay, yeah, it’s Batman, but it’s not any of the other stuff. It’s Superman, but it’s not any of the other stuff.’”

What Gunn seems to be describing is how so many superhero movies, including every Superman movie to date and just about every Batman film—save, ironically enough, for Man of Steel sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice—seem to take place in a universe with a flesh state. No one on screen has ever heard of the idea of a superhero until our main character puts on a pair of tights. That’s something Gunn is looking to change, embracing a new vision for superhero cinema that balances his grounded storytelling with a fantastical world that’s long been filled with gods and monsters.

“This is an alternative history, fantasy world where superheroes exist, but it’s also incredibly grounded throughout. [It’s] real people having real lives that just happen to live in a world where Superman exists; he has friends who are other superheroes; he has a flying dog; a fortress that springs [from] the ground; he has a lot of the things that we love from the Superman comics and the Superman mythology that we haven’t been able to see as much in film and media, and definitely haven’t been able to see in a grounded way. Which is what I hope we’ve created.”

The Reason Superman’s Suit is so Colorful

Gunn also revealed why he chose to go for the classic primary color Superman suit, complete with outside swimming trunks. While looking at the red, blue, and yellow comics-inspired creation, the director was worried by just how colorful it was, and of course those iconic red pants. But his fears were assuaged when his Superman actor, Corenswet, came out with a profound statement.

“He’s an alien from outer space who’s super powerful, who doesn’t want children to be afraid of him,” Gunn recalled the actor telling him.

It clearly made a massive impact on the director. “It touched me in the moment, and it touches me now, ” Gunn added. “That’s who he is, and that’s where the costume comes from, and that goes along with Jerry [Siegel] and Joe [Shuster] ‘s original vision, harkening back to wrestlers in the circus. That’s who Superman is, and he has a reason why his costume is so colorful. It’s because he doesn’t want to scare children. He’s got red beams that come out of his eyes and he can blow over things with his breath. He doesn’t want to be scary to children.”

It’s Not a Comedy; It’s a Story About Humanity and Heart

“I think something that’s really going to surprise people in the movie is the humanity that these actors bring,” Gunn said. “We don’t short shrift the relationship between these characters and the way they see the world. At the heart of the movie, it’s about these three characters and how they see the world, and they all believe they’re seeing it in the correct way. They see it in three very different ways, two of whom are slightly more aligned in action than the third, but at the end of the day, that is an important element of this movie. It’s not a comedy like Guardians, it’s really about the relationships between these characters and their conversations as much as it is about the flying dog, and the woman with wings and the mad scientist.”

The Impact of John Williams Classic Theme

The trailer reveals a cool, almost classic rock version of John Wiliams’ famous Superman theme from the iconic 1978 film directed by Richard Donner and starring Christopher Reeve. Gunn is known for his iconic needle drops in Guardians of the Galaxy and Peacemaker, but Superman will have more of a classic cinematic score, inspired of course by the brilliant Williams.

“I knew from the beginning what I wanted to do with the music,” Gunn explained. “I thought about it a lot. Are we gonna use the Williams theme? Are we gonna do something different? The Williams theme is one of my favorite soundtracks of all time, and for me as a child the thing I loved the most about the movie was the soundtrack. I knew that we were doing something that would harken back to the past but was also looking forward to the future.”

Working with composer John Murphy was key, as Gunn revealed that Murphy was one of the first people to ever read the script before it was even finished, allowing him to work on the music as the film was being created.

“I said I want to use a version of the Williams theme, but I wanna do our own version of it, which is what you hear. What’s really amazing is how that leads into a lot of other pieces, some of which hark back to the Williams theme, but some of which are purely John Murphy. It’s used beautifully throughout the movie. And John has worked non-stop for the past almost two years, putting the score together.”

Smallville was an Unexpected Inspiration for the Cast

When asked about his first memory of interacting with the Superman character, Corenswet spoke to the massive cultural impact of the character before revealing the version that spoke to him as a kid.

“I think there’s a cool thing about Superman is that I feel like I knew what [who the character was] before I had ever seen him anywhere,” Corenswet said. “You can show a kid the Superman symbol, and whether they’ve seen a comic or a movie or not, they know that it’s Superman. So it’s just bigger than any one iteration of it. For me, I definitely sneaked in episodes of Smallville growing up after school.”

The actor bringing Superman to life wasn’t the only one to reminisce about the beloved WB network TV series. Hoult also praised the series and in particular its version of Lex Luthor.
“It’s so ingrained in our culture that I knew Superman and kryptonite and all these things from before, I think I’d ever seen them,” the Nosferatu actor said. “But yes, Smallville was my first real understanding of this world. And Michael [Rosenbaum] did a fantastic job as well. So that was a great first welcome into the culture.”

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