James Gunn’s highly anticipated Superman left most DC fans curious about Gunn’s inspiration behind the characters in the movie. Recently Gunn gave some food for thought on the plates of curiosity as he revealed the comic books that inspired the iconic DC villain who will appear in Gunn’s upcoming project Superman.
James Gunn revealed comic books which inspired Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor Inspiration. Image Credit: DC Comics
James Gunn’s Superman starring David Corenswet in the lead is one of the highly anticipated movies of 2025. Also, the movie will kickstart Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC being the first theatrical release of the new DC Universe. While the hype for the movie is sky-high, the director has recently shared a list of comic books that inspired his version of Lex Luthor played by Nicholas Hoult.
“God there are so many. Lex is one of my favorites – he works on so many levels – and it’s been a joy bringing him to the screen with the incredible [Nicholas Hoult]. Some of the influences were, of course, All-Star Superman, Azzarello’s Luthor, and the reckless scientific genius from the 1950’s and ‘60’s,” Gunn wrote on Threads responding to a fans’ query about the character.
DC Comics’ All-Star Superman was created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely and ran from November 2005 to October 2008. Brian Azzarello’s Luthor, originally published in 2010 was also a source of inspiration for the character.
James Gunn Said Superman Will Be Very Different From His Marvel Movies
James Gunn. Image Credit: jamesgunn/Threads
Gunn was fresh out of the third installment of his Guardians of the Galaxy movie when he joined DC Studios as the co-head of the brand. While Gunn has prior experience working at DC as he directed the 2021 action comedy, The Suicide Squad, many speculated that Gunn would, at least, have traces of MCU flavor for his long tenure at Marvel Studios for directing the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. “I learned so much from making these [Guardians] movies,” Gunn previously admitted (via Deadline).
“But it’s not like Superman is going to have exactly the same vibe as a Guardians movie. It’s actually quite different,” the director added.
SUGGESTED: David Corenswet “didn’t feel great” Bulking Up For James Gunn’s Upcoming Grand DC Movie ‘Superman’
As for Gunn as a DC Boss, he does not look at Marvel Studios as DC’s biggest rival, “To be frank, I think the better Marvel movies do, it’s better for DC, and the better DC movies do, it’s better for Marvel,” Gunn explained. “When people see bad movies, they don’t want to spend more money on seeing more movies. So you want good movies to happen.” Regardless, DC’s new beginning is promising and has created astonishing hype while Marvel Studios has slated several highly anticipated projects for 2025 including Thunderbolts*, Captain America: Brave New World, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
DC’s Gunn-directed Superman is now in post-production as slated to hit the theaters on July 11, 2025.
