After first leaving his mark on the DC movies landscape with The Suicide Squad, followed by the Peacemaker spinoff series available for HBO Max subscribers to stream, James Gunn is now turning his sights to DC’s heaviest hitter, figuratively and literally. Gunn, who has been co-running DC Studios with producer Peter Safran for a few months now, announced in December that he’s writing a Superman reboot, as it was decided that Henry Cavill will not reprise the Man of Steel again following his Black Adam cameo. Now it appears that Gunn may have revealed a key piece of source material inspiring his reboot.
With Kal-El/Clark Kent having debuted in the pages of 1938’s Action Comics #1, there’s no shortage of source material to pull from when one is writing a Superman movie, but as with many superheroes, there’s no question that certain stories of his stand higher than others. One of those is All-Star Superman by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, and James Gunn shared on Twitter that he’s currently going through that 12-issue saga.
The secret to happiness is starting the morning with coffee and comic books. pic.twitter.com/NCAKhD6xoCJanuary 17, 2023
Comics and a cup of joe are indeed a winning combination, but it’s also worth mentioning that James Gunn shared to a fan that he’s read All-Star Superman “many, many times.” As a comics fan myself, I’ve reread favorites of mine, numerous times, so maybe that’s all this is on Gunn’s part: once again enjoying one of the most critically-acclaimed Superman tales of all time. However, since Gunn is in the midst of writing a Superman reboot, one can’t help but wonder if he’s returning to All-Star Superman to help inspire the cinematic story he’s putting together.
Published from 2005 to 2008, and taking place outside of the main DC Comics continuity, All-Star Superman followed a version of the Kryptonian superhero who was dying from overexposure to the sun and decided to spend his final days carrying out as many heroic feats as possible. Among All-Star Superman’s many accolades was winning two Eisner Awards and two Harvey Awards, and it was adapted into an animated movie in 2011 starring James Denton as Superman, Christina Hendricks as Lois Lane, Anthony LaPaglia as Lex Luthor, among others. Russell Crowe’s Jor-El also gives a monologue in Man of Steel that almost exactly repeats what our hero’s Kryptonian father said to him in All-Star Superman.
Given that the Superman in All-Star Superman had been protecting the world for a while, whereas James Gunn’s reboot will take some cues from The Batman by following a younger Clark Kent (who has not been cast yet), but not retell his origin story, if Gunn is indeed pulling from All-Star Superman, obviously the story he’s cooking up won’t be a direct adaptation. Nevertheless, this is an excellent piece of source material to consult, and even if Gunn’s reboot ends up going in a different direction narratively or tonally, Superman fans who haven’t already read this limited series should rectify that as soon as possible. It can be easily read digitally if you subscribe to DC Universe Infinite.
While we wait for concrete details about what to expect from James Gunn’s reboot, look through the upcoming DC movies on the slate, with this year’s offerings kicking off when Shazam! Fury of the Gods hits theaters on March 17.
