David Corenswet had to convince James Gunn to go against Zack Snyder about including this one iconic Superman trait in the new film

James Gunn, who is bringing the new Superman film to the DC universe, didn't want him to have a suit with trunks. He reached that conclusion after speaking with Zack Snyder (who directed the DCEU movies) and his creative team, who couldn't justify its function in the superhero's costume. Eventually, David Corenswet, who plays the hero, convinced Gunn otherwise.

The 31-year-old actor detailed his reasoning during his recent conversation with Fandango, where he was joined by Gunn, and his co-stars Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult. He said,

"[Trunks on a Superman suit] look kind of silly. [Director James Gunn] was looking for a way to make them look cool or you were looking for function, and explanation for having them [to] justify them. And my thing was maybe they were supposed to look a little silly. Maybe the reason he wears them is to look a little silly, basically, to undermine how powerful he really is."

Gunn's new film is expected to offer a fresh take on the hero, who is "somebody who you want to give a hug." So, Corenswet's thoughts complement his vision behind the hero and humanize him. Instead of showing the hero as just a powerful being, it can offer a rather balanced interpretation of the character. Nevertheless, Gunn reached this conclusion after a long process and thoughtful consideration.

James Gunn wasn't sure if he wanted David Corenswet's Superman to have a suit with trunks

When asked about his initial vision behind the Superman suit during the Fandango interview, James Gunn said,

"The only thing I knew was I didn't want it to look like a wet t-shirt. I didn't want it to have muscles to be built into the suit. I wanted to create a world where metahumans actually existed, but also, they wore these uniforms for various reasons, and that it was, in a way, a uniform."

He further revealed how the creative process led them to make a few changes based on his conversations with costume designer Judianna Makovsky.

"I went from there to working with Judiana, who did my costumes for the Guardians of the Galaxy, and just kind of taking it bit by bit until we ended up with the beautiful suit we ended up with," Gunn said.

During this process, Corenswet also chimed in. It happened after Gunn spoke with Snyder about his idea behind Henry Cavill's suit, which did not include trunks. Gunn said,

"One of the biggest questions was: Were we gonna have trunks or were we gonna not have trunks? I talked to Zack Snyder, who was like, "I tried a billion different versions with the trunks and at the end of the day, I couldn't get there." I was feeling exactly the same way."

As a result, Gunn and Makovsky came up with two versions of the suit: one with the trunks and one without them.

In theory, Gunn wanted to have trunks in the suit because that's the kind of superhero he grew up loving through movies and comics. However, he was worried that they might look silly and wouldn't serve any purpose. Still, Corenswet convinced him to go with a suit with trunks for the aforementioned reason.

James Gunn's Superman is slated to be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.

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Also read: Timeline of Clark Kent as Superman revealed in the new James Gunn film

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