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“I learned to read on DC Comics. I was really a huge fan of comic books from the beginning, from the time I learned to read, and I still read comic books to this day. They’ve always been my first love,� says Gunn, 58, who had a special affinity for the Superman comic books and the people and worlds portrayed there.

Today, director and writer Gunn is co-running the new DC Studios with his business partner Peter Safran. DC Studios’ first feature film is the highly anticipated, big budget summer superhero flick “Superman,� opening in theaters July 11.

“I wanted to re-create the feeling I had as a kid reading DC Comics and Superman comic books,� Gunn says of the new movie.

David Corenswet stars in the titular role, donning the cape last worn by Henry Cavill. The story follows Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing including battling Lex Luthor, romancing Lois Lane and protecting humankind.

Not only is “Superman� the first movie in the ambitious DC universe Chapter One Gods and Monsters era, which promises many more superhero movies to come, it’s also the prolific filmmaker's first-ever swing at Superman.

“It's weird. I never envisioned myself as a studio head, and there’s never been somebody in my position, never been a creative who’s head of a studio,â€� the ºüÀêÊÓƵ University High School and ºüÀêÊÓƵ University alum says of his defining new role. “The way we split responsibilities is (Safran) pretty much handles all the business parts and I handle the creative part.â€�

Gunn’s creative side has soared for years now, garnering huge box office success and a Critics Choice Award, leading to Safran to refer to him as the best superhero filmmaker working today.

Gunn wrote and directed the critically acclaimed  “Guardians of the Galaxy,� (2014), “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2� (2017), “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3� (2023), and executive produced “Avengers: Infinity War� (2018) and “Avengers: Endgame� (2019) — all for now-rival studio Marvel.

He also wrote and directed “The Suicide Squad� (2021) and its spinoff HBO Max series “Peacemaker� (2022).

“Overall, it’s pretty fun, and I love the DC characters and being able to bring them to life. It’s been joyful from the very beginning,� he says.

But that doesn’t mean the pressure isn’t overwhelming.

“Oh good God, yes. There has been pressure all along. But I feel a lot less of it now that people are enjoying the movie (via early industry previews). ... But yeah, we’re coming in and putting a lot on this character and a lot on this movie.�

Taking on pressure-filled projects is par for the course at this point for Gunn, who began his career at age 12 making a zombie movie with an eight-millimeter camera and his brother Sean as one of his actors.

His breakthrough came writing the low-budget “Tromeo and Juliet� (1996), but he really began making his mark writing the No. 1 box office hits “Scooby-Doo� (2002) and the “Dawn of the Dead� horror reboot (2004), and writing and directing horror-comedy flick “Slither� (2006). He promises a return to his horror roots with “Clayface,� focusing on a Batman villain, due out September 2026, just after his "Supergirl" hits screens in June 2026. 

“Any time I make a movie it’s difficult because it’s not like I’m going in my back room and shooting a movie on my phone. Movies cost hundreds of millions of dollars sometimes. So I’m responsible to all the investors and the people taking that risk. So it’s definitely a lot of pressure.�

Gunn has come a long way, as “Superman� is poised to go down as one of the summer’s biggest blockbusters — unless it doesn’t. The elements of a summer blockbuster are there, but the movie is arriving as the superhero genre is experiencing some less-than-super box office fatigue.

“Captain America: Brave New World� saw its wings clipped at the box office this year, and before that “The Marvels,� “Madame Web,� “Joker: Folie a Deux,� “The Flash� and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom� were disappointments. This spring’s “Thunderbolts� was a mild exception, and the massive success of the atypical adult superhero action/comedy “Deadpool & Wolverine� can’t be overlooked.

“You never know what’s going to happen,� he says of the potential success of “Superman.� “I don’t pretend to tell the future.�

He says it’s not an issue of superhero movies underperforming nowadays, but rather people wanting to see good movies regardless of the genre.

“You can’t just make any superhero movie and put it out there and expect it to make money. It also needs to be good. People wanna see good movies and when a movie comes out that they like, like ‘Guardians 3’ or ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ the movies do extremely well. If they come out and they don’t like them, they don’t do so well.�

A small but vocal corner of the internet is rooting for the movie’s failure, drumming up all the bad buzz it can. Distractors are displeased with Gunn replacing director Zach Snyder (“Man of Steel,� 2013, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,� 2016 and “Justice League,� 2017), as well as Corenswet replacing Cavill.

Gunn has heard all the noise. “I think it’s weird to be ‘anti’ a vision of a movie they haven’t seen yet. But when you take characters as iconic as these, you have your mountain of supporters and you have people who want you to do things differently. It’s just the way modern filmmaking goes when you’re taking on these enormous properties,� says Gunn, who flips the negativity to say he’s glad people are at least talking.

ºüÀêÊÓƵ connections

One key thing for him in tackling “Superman� was the way his understanding and love of the character informs what he can and can’t do in bringing the superhero into 2025.

Theatrically, Gunn’s love of Superman goes back to 1978. As a boy, he saw the Richard Donner-directed “Superman� starring Christopher Reeve opening weekend at what is now Marcus Des Peres Cinema.

“It was such a huge experience for me,â€� says Gunn. One fun fact he points out: Jim Lee, president, publisher and chief creative officer of DC Comics and a former ºüÀêÊÓƵan, also saw the 1978 “Supermanâ€� movie the same weekend at Marcus Des Peres Cinema (though they did not know each other growing up).

“So the head of DC Comics and the head of DC Studios saw ‘Superman’ in the same theater on the same opening weekend, possibly in the same theater at the same time. How crazy is that for two ºüÀêÊÓƵ boys?â€� Gunn says.

And he didn’t forget ºüÀêÊÓƵ in his “Supermanâ€� promotion. Promotional posters showcasing the superhero in different cities around the world include a ºüÀêÊÓƵ poster with Superman and the Gateway Arch.

“We were making these posters around the world and I said I needed to make a poster with my beloved ºüÀêÊÓƵ Arch on it, for my ºüÀêÊÓƵ fans, for my mom who lives in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and my friends who are still in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. I wanted to make sure St Louis was represented in addition to the great cities around the world.â€�

That’s not the only “Supermanâ€�/Gateway Arch tie-in. An official Superman Drone Show framed by the Gateway Arch was performed July 4. The ºüÀêÊÓƵ-exclusive event was in partnership with Celebrate ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Warner Bros., and designed by Fantasy Drone Shows. The show featured 400 drones and 11 images promoting the new movie.

Shining a light on ºüÀêÊÓƵ was important to Gunn. St Louis helped shape who he is today.

“I love the friendliness every time I go back to ºüÀêÊÓƵ. It’s something I try to carry with me everywhere I go. Even though I’ve worked a lot in New York and I worked a lot in LA, I really enjoy the common sense friendliness that ºüÀêÊÓƵans have.â€�

Making it happen

“Superman� first circled into Gunn’s orbit seven years ago, but the timing wasn’t ideal and the task seemed daunting, so he passed.

“But it never left my brain. I kept thinking about it and thinking about it and thinking about it, and when it came back to me a couple of years ago, I said yeah I think I’m gonna try it. I think I've changed and grown as a filmmaker and as a screenwriter and I'm going to do my best to make the best movie I can.�

At the top of the list of priorities in making the best Superman movie he could was finding the right leading man. He sees Corenswet as the perfect actor to usher in this era of “Superman.� Corenswet is known for movies including “Twisters� and “Pearl,� and TV’s “Hollywood,� “The Politician� and “Lady in the Lake.�

“I was really lucky in that David was, I think, the second audition I saw for ‘Superman.’ I said to my partner Peter Safran before we started, if we can’t find Superman I’m not going to make this movie. I really don’t want to make this movie without someone who doesn’t fully embody the role.�

He cites Corenswet’s acting chops, comedic timing, ability to deliver fast-paced dialogue and perform difficult athletic stunts as what makes him perfect, not to mention the fact that he just looks like Superman.

“Not many people can check all those boxes. He checks all the boxes. And it doesn’t hurt he’s kinda like Superman, an odd guy who’s very different and listens to old jazz standards. He’s a square just like Superman.�

In addition to the Man of Steel, “Superman� features the requisite colorful array of characters, a vibrant mixture of well-known and less familiar figures including Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) and The Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria).

A rambunctious Krypto the Superdog is also on hand. Krypto was inspired by Gunn’s own rescue dog Ozu, who has one ear up and one ear down.

Gunn’s vision for “Superman� also reflects showing more than the superhero landing in a cornfield in Kansas and surrounded by humans.

Instead, it’s a world where there’s Superman, but "there were also robots and giant monsters and flying dogs and sorcery and science so extreme it seems like sorcery.�

He says he found inspiration for “Superman� from both the classic “Star Wars� franchise and the “Game of Thrones� series, leaning into how they explored different universes.

He adds, “I wanted to examine a bit of who Superman would be if he was real. What would his flaws be? What would his relationships be like? I wanted to look at him as a person. He actually has a personality crisis in the movie, which is sort of unusual for a Superman movie. I wanted to get to know the character more intimately.�

Rather than write another origin story for Superman, Gunn presents a universe where the moviegoer can enter at any point and time and see different pieces of it, and it doesn’t have to play out as one big story.

“I don’t know that I’ve made a lot of superhero movies,� he says of what may be a misconception. “I made a movie called ‘Super’ (2010) about a crazy guy who wore a costume and beat up people with a wrench. ‘Guardians’ are basically space adventurers, not superheros. ‘Suicide Squad’ is basically supervillains. So in a lot of ways, ‘Superman’ is really my first superhero movie.�

Ultimately, Gunn hopes moviegoers take away a lesson in humanity. 

“In this movie we see Superman, we want to be Superman, we want to be strong and powerful and shoot beams out of our eyes and fly around the planet. But as we go into this movie we see what Superman wants is to be us. He wants to be a human being, someone who is loved and able to love someone else. He wants that connection human beings have.,� he says.

“I think in a perfect world, people will walk out of this movie being a little grateful for what we each have in our own lives.�

ºüÀêÊÓƵ nonprofit organization SignBridge, dedicated to bridging the gap between the deaf and hearing communities in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, is hosting an open caption screening of “Supermanâ€� at 6 p.m. July 19 at AMC Edwardsville, 6633 Center Grove Road, Edwardsville.