James Gunn’s Superman is set to hit theaters on July 11th, and its success—or failure—will set the tone for all the DC Universe projects to follow. To say there is a lot of pressure on the movie to succeed is an understatement. And while Warner Bros. Discovery would no doubt love for the movie to smash box office records, Superman‘s success — and arguably the success of the struggling superhero genre as a whole — rests on something entirely different: the ability to inspire children.
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To put it bluntly, if this film doesn’t get at least one kid to “Woosh!” around their backyard wearing a makeshift cape, then the DCU is dead on arrival.
Superhero Movies Should Still Be For Kids
The more superhero movies, comics, and toys cater to adults, the more they alienate the children who used to be the backbone of their fan base. If kids can’t relate to Superman, they’ll just turn to Mario or their favorite YouTuber to fill the void. The decline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be just the tip of the iceberg if creators don’t do something to lighten up the superhero genre. We hate to put all of this on Superman, but if there’s one superhero that can inspire hope and imagination in a whole new generation of kids, it’s the OG.
The current lack of enthusiasm in the ‘Capes n’ Tights’ genre isn’t so-called “superhero fatigue,” but rather fatigue with the genre’s bend toward grit, realism, and deconstruction. We need fewer conflicted vigilantes and psychotic superhero analogs and more shining beacons of justice. In other words, less Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and more Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie.
Superman: The Movie Turned a Whole Generation of Kids Into Superman Fans
It may look somewhat corny to modern audiences, but Superman: The Movie was a mammoth blockbuster when it was released in 1978. More important than its ticket sales, though, was the impact it had on a whole generation of impressionable minors. If you were a kid in the ’80s, then there’s a 100% chance you tied a blanket or towel around your neck at least once and pretended to be Christopher Reeve’s Superman. It was a Xennial ritual like swinging around a flashlight, making lightsaber noises, or drinking from the hose.
That’s not to say that Superman was a kids’ movie, but it was definitely aimed at a younger audience than the other popular movies of 1978, like National Lampoon’s Animal House and The Deer Hunter. Superman, like another ’70s classic, Star Wars, may have appealed to viewers of all ages, but it was explicitly aimed at 10-12-year-olds.
So what happened? Those 10-12-year-olds grew up. Their sensibilities changed, but thanks to capitalism-fueled nostalgia, their interests didn’t. Suddenly, you had Batman fans cringing at the campy Adam West reruns that delighted them as toddlers, demanding a darker, more adult take on the character. Hollywood was more than happy to cater to these adult children and their disposable incomes, even if it came at the expense of actual children.
The Snyderverse Doesn’t Have a Kids Section
As anyone with an internet connection knows, this ‘more adult’ superhero movie trend eventually reached even the most pure-hearted of heroes, Superman. Let’s be clear: We know that Zack Snyder’s darker take on The Big Blue Boy Scout has its die-hard supporters, but when’s the last time you heard a fifth-grader saying, “Release the Snyder-cut?” How many elementary school students are spending recess discussing the latest episode of Andor or The Penguin?
Some superheroes, like Deadpool or even Batman, can lend themselves to a more adult interpretation, but Superman should always be accessible to children. There are currently not one, but two live-action R-rated Superman films: Zack Snyder’s Justice League and the director’s cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. By our count, that’s two too many. If your Superman movie is dark enough to warrant an R-rating from the MPAA, you’re doing it wrong.
Judging by the trailers for Superman (2025), James Gunn may potentially reverse this trend, but we’ll see. Gunn certainly works with a brighter palette than Snyder, but at the end of the day, he still caters to adults just as much as his predecessor, if not more. After all, Snyder at least has that CGI Owl movie; the most family-friendly movie Gunn ever made was probably the first Guardians of the Galaxy, and that movie has a joke comparing Star Lord’s ‘romantic expulsions’ to the work of Jackson Pollock.
There’s Nothing Kids Love More Than Dogs and Robots
Then again, given all the behind-the-scenes footage of David Corenswet interacting with children on the Superman set, perhaps James Gunn has reigned in his raunchy sense of humor slightly in favor of a more all-ages tone. After all, the movie is the live-action debut of Krypto the Super Dog and Superman’s robot butlers — two aspects of the character that appeal more to a child-like sense of fun than an adult’s “grounded” sensibilities.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until July 11th to find out if Superman actually resonates with the younger crowd. Until then, we remain cautiously optimistic that James Gunn can help the world’s first superhero find his way back into the hearts and minds of children everywhere.
Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to find a safety pin and a red blanket.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
