Superman’s trunks have been a huge part of the debate even before it was revealed what DC Studios’ new Superman would even look like, but it turns out that the future of the trunks in the DCU may be a little bit up in the air — at least for other heroes, including Batman. Superman wearing or skipping out on suit trunks has been a key part of the divide among fans as the last major on-screen version of the DC hero notably didn’t wear them. It was something Superman director James Gunn had mentioned that he was worried about in the past (and even consulted Man of Steel director Zack Snyder on), but has since revealed that his take on the hero would have them on.
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In speaking with ComicBook during the Superman junket ahead of the new film’s premiere, director and DC Studios co-head James Gunn revealed that the future of the trunks hasn’t been decided just yet — but of all the DC characters who could have similar trunks in comics, Superman is the most likely to keep them.
“No, because we haven’t decided,” Gunn said when asked if other characters might have trunks in the DCU. “And, you know, listen, the trunks are good, so we’ll see what happens. I don’t know. I mean, I think it’s less likely that some other characters would have trunks than Superman. It’s much more a part of Superman’s costume, I think, than it is Batman’s right, even though he had trunks a lot in the comics.”
Superman Keeping His Trunks Makes Sense
Previously speaking with ComicBook on the return of cede trunks, Gunn even explained that Superman star David Corenswet helped him decide on which way to go, “At the end of the day, [the debate] wasn’t that heated. It was heated for a while. I was on the ‘no trunks’ team for a long time,” Gunn began. “And [Man of Steel director] Zack [Snyder] said that when he was doing it, he tried a billion different trunk versions as we did. And I kept going back to no trunks, no trunks, no trunks. And I’m like, well, ‘Let’s just grind it out. Let’s just keep trying trunks and see what happens.’ And David [Corenswet] said something to me that really affected me.”
“We were trying on all these different versions, and we screen-tested with trunks and no trunks,” Gunn continued. “And one of the things David said is that Superman wants kids to not be afraid of him. He’s an alien. He’s got these incredible powers. He shoots beams out of his eyes, can blow the truck over. He’s this incredibly powerful, could be considered scary, individual and he wants people to like him. He wants to be a symbol of hope and
positivity.”
Going even further, Gunn revealed that Superman is a little inspired by professional wrestling, “He dresses like a professional wrestler, he dresses in a way that makes people unafraid of him, that shows that,” Gunn explained. “That really clicked in for me. And I think trying to pretend that Superman’s costume doesn’t have some frivolity to it, at its base, trying to make it look serious is silly because he is a superhero. He’s the first one, brightly colored, and that’s who he is. So that’s where we landed and, eventually, we all came to a place where almost all of us agreed on the trunks.”
Superman releases on July 11th.
