Ahead of Superman‘s home video release this Friday on digital services, Warner Bros. has released an hour-long making-of feature for James Gunn’s reboot of the DC cinematic universe. The YouTube documentary answers a long list of “why?” questions, like “Why trunks?”, “Why so much Krypto?”, and “Why does Superman need to be ‘huggable’?”, while also offering plenty of behind-the-scenes filming footage. It’s a fascinating look at an earnestly made Hollywood blockbuster.
But perhaps the most captivating moment comes at around the 48-minute mark, when actor David Corenswet is filming the climactic confrontation between Superman and Lex Luthor. It’s an intense and vulnerable moment for Superman (and Corenswet), as the Man of Steel delivers an emotional monologue explaining why Luthor’s attacks on him being an alien affect him so much.
Corenswet, clearly amped up in the moment, is having trouble with the dialogue, and Gunn seems to have equal difficulty explaining how he wants the actor to approach the scene. Then, in what Gunn describes as his “favorite moment on set,” Corenswet walks off set, and the actor and director have a very animated discussion about how Superman is supposed to be feeling in that moment. On its face, it looks like the two are having a debate, or even a disagreement, especially when Gunn starts poking Corenswet in the chest. But at one point, Gunn says something that clicks for the actor, and you see in Corenswet’s body language that he understands Gunn’s interpretation of Superman in a newly energizing way. It’s cool to watch play out, and it’s clear to see why people are talking about it so much.
It’s also a very real-life example of the kind of conflicts we see so often in superhero movies: Two people, passionate in their perspectives, squaring off until they realize they both want the same thing.
If you’re a fan of Gunn’s Superman, or just Superman in general, “Adventures in the Making of Superman” is a great way to spend an hour. We rarely get to see these kinds of robust making-of features for current releases, especially for free, and we rarely see these kinds of actor-director relationships exposed so publicly.
Superman will be released on digital services in North America on Aug. 15. The film’s 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD release is slated for Sept. 23.