With just days until the global release of the first teaser trailer, TheWrap visited the set of Superman in Cleveland last June, where director James Gunn battled the elements to bring his vision for DC’s Boy Scout to life. Between takes, Gunn sat with a number of reporters and revealed his approach to the Man of Steel – an approach that focuses solely on Superman’s story without delving into the creation of a larger universe.

“Zero,” Gunn said emphatically when asked how much of the film was dedicated to setting up other characters or future DC projects. “I mean, maybe two little things, two moments, but basically if something is there just to set something else up, screw it.”

For Gunn, that philosophy goes beyond this film. “Everything has to stand on its own. I don’t want anyone to have to watch this movie and rely on anything else,” Gunn said. “If that’s something in ‘Peacemaker’ that does what it does, then that’s great. But for me that will never be something that I will sacrifice a single moment or moment for in a story, especially not in a film.”

Gunn added: “In television you have a little more leniency to be able to do that. But in a film, every beat has to be there for the film itself.”

The film begins with Superman already established in his world and already having relationships with Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. “We just start in the middle of the action,” Gunn said. “Superman already exists. Lois and Clark already know each other. Lex hates Superman’s guts from the start, even though they don’t know each other personally.”

Gunn’s vision for the film draws from various influences while maintaining his own identity. “All previous DC media influenced me,” Gunn said. “I think I was obviously influenced by the original Donner film, but there are also a lot of things that it doesn’t have, like I don’t just do a Donner-style film. It’s completely different.” Gunn specifically cited “All-Star Superman” as a major comic book influence, citing its Silver Age feel and sci-fi approach.

For the action sequences, especially the aerial shots, Gunn and his team took inspiration from “Top Gun: Maverick.” They use drones to capture Superman’s flying scenes. “We shoot a lot of our action with real drones flying in and around Superman and the people he’s flying with, engineer, whoever, that he’s fighting in the air with,” Gunn said. “We have these really small, crazy drones now. We have some of the best flyers in the world working with it here.”

The tone of the film sets it apart from Gunn’s previous superhero appearances. “It’s humorous, but certainly not as funny or as much of a comedy as ‘Suicide Squad’ or ‘Guardians,'” Gunn said. “There’s a lot of humor in it. People like Rachel (Brosnahan) are so funny and David (Corenswet) is very funny too, so there’s humor in it, but it’s about creating something that’s grounded, but it’s also an incredibly imaginative world, it’s fantasy, it takes something from other things like Game of Thrones, where it’s this universe where there are actually superheroes.”

One of the most debated aspects of the production was Superman’s DCU costume – specifically whether the classic trunks should be included. Gunn, who was “on the No Trunks team for a long time,” changed his mind after a conversation with star Corenswet.

“David said something to me that really touched me,” Gunn said. “Superman wants children not to be afraid of him. He’s an alien. He’s an incredibly powerful person, you could call him a scary person, and he wants people to like him. He wants to be a symbol of hope and positivity. So he dresses like a professional wrestler, he dresses in a way that people aren’t afraid of him, that shows.”

The score, composed by John Murphy, will include references to John Williams’ classic Superman theme while creating something new. “It’s not a soundtrack, so it’s not about the songs,” Gunn noted. “It’s much, much more of a film score.”

Gunn also talked about the initial casting process and how he found his two leads. Both Corenswet and Brosnahan’s auditions arrived on the first day. “I saw both and thought, ‘Oh my God, we’ll be fine,'” Gunn said. Their chemistry test proved crucial: “We had this 15-minute scene where they had to work together, talk, discuss and just communicate.” And I mixed and matched all the different couples and it was pure magic when that happened both came together.”

Gunn also noted that the film explores a unique take on the Clark Kent/Superman dynamic. “People said all sorts of things. They said, ‘Clark is the real one.’ They said, ‘Superman is the real one and Clark is the secret identity.’ But I don’t believe any of that,” Gunn said. “I don’t think anyone knows Superman unless they both know him. And if they know both of them, they know the real guy. And that means not too many people.”

The film underwent some changes during production, including abandoning the original title “Legacy” after a “pre-mortem” meeting in which department heads discussed potential problems before filming began. “I thought the title might have been because they had a feeling for it after the fact. And this isn’t about looking back, it’s about looking forward,” Gunn said.

“Superman” hits theaters on July 11, 2025.