Filmmaker James Gunn says the battered-looking version of Superman seen in the trailer for his highly anticipated Superman film represents America.

During a recent question and answer session at the trailer’s premiere, the director acknowledged the political implications in the film and said that the film is steeped in a bruised and bloody America.

“We have a battered Superman at the beginning. This is our country,” Gunn said at the event.

The trailer was released online on Thursday, announcing an entirely new cinematic universe for the iconic DC Comics superhero.

This time Superman is played by actor David Corenswet alongside Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane.

The approximately two-minute trailer not only reintroduced audiences to the classic Superman characters, but also showed the title character in a dire situation, lying bloodied and injured in an arctic wasteland.

In the first shots of the trailer, the stricken superhero can be seen using his remaining strength to whistle at his dog Krypto to save him.

Gunn said the shocking images of the broken hero were indicative of an America that still stood for good despite its current bloodied and battered state.

“I believe in the goodness of people, and I believe that most people in this country, despite their ideological beliefs and their politics, are doing their best to get by and be good people – regardless of what it takes for them other side may appear,” he said.

But the beleaguered state of Gunn’s Superman represents America when it is corrupted by “darker voices,” he said.

“That’s what this film is about. It’s about the fundamental kindness of people and how it can be seen as uncool and under siege from some of the darker voices are some of the louder voices.”

Elsewhere during the Q&A, Gunn reinforced the idea that the film is about human goodness overcoming these “darker” influences.

He said: “It’s about the basic kindness of people.” It’s a noble premise that seems intended to appeal across the political spectrum. It is a moral call for decency and optimism.”

Gunn, who has steered clear of policy details, has long been a critic of President-elect Donald Trump, calling him “an incompetent president forging an all-out assault on facts and journalism in the style of Hitler and Putin” in a 2017 post.

During the Superman event, Gunn also mentioned that he wanted his reboot to stay away from some of the themes of previous franchises.

“However, given how often contemporary superhero stories are viewed as allegories of our polarized era, there is an underlying concern,” he said.

“After all, previous DC installments have been criticized for flirting with darker political undertones and ‘fascist power fantasies’.”

“We all felt like we were doing something good… not a fascist power fantasy,” he added elsewhere.