Heading into Superman, James Gunn was no stranger to comic book adaptations, having worked on the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker.
However, the Man of Steel is a very different type of superhero, and Gunn has made no secret of the fact that he took a very different approach to the character. That extended to action and flying scenes, the latter of which proved surprisingly divisive.
Speaking with Collider, the DC Studios co-CEO explained how what he learned from Superman will factor into 2027's Man of Tomorrow.
"I did a lot of experimental stuff with shooting flying, and I think I learned a lot about what worked and what didn't work as well," Gunn revealed. "And so one of the things I'm the most excited about are these few action sequences in Man of Tomorrow. And so putting those together has been really fun. I always learn a lot with every movie in terms of what works and what doesn't."
"I think the proof of concept worked in terms of who Superman was. And then, there are things that I think that can be improved. And not only improved, but just different," he continued. "I like my movies to be different. Guardians 1 is not the same as Guardians 3. They're different."
"And Man of Tomorrow will not be the same as Superman. And it is Lex's story too, so it's the two of them. That colors it in a totally different way," the filmmaker added.
It was down to Superman to reintroduce moviegoers to the DC Universe. The pressure is no longer on Gunn to "save" this franchise after the DCEU's disastrous final few years, freeing him up to take a bolder approach to Man of Tomorrow that'll likely be less concerned with introducing new characters (the Justice Gang, for example).
The site also asked Gunn whether we'll see more of Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor in the remaining two episodes of Peacemaker season 2.
"Oh no, no, we're not going to be seeing Nick necessarily, but his deal is important to the rest of the season, incredibly important, not only to the rest of the season, but to the Man of Tomorrow as well."
Elaboratng on how much of a must-see Peacemaker is before watching Man of Tomorrow, Gunn noted, "I don't want people to feel like, if they like Superman and don't like Peacemaker, I don't want them to have to watch Peacemaker or vice versa."
"So there's things that are connected, but when I'm running Man of Tomorrow, I make sure that people can come in just on Man of Tomorrow and understand everything, you know, especially not having to watch Peacemaker."
Gunn has said that all these DCU projects are part of his 10-year plan, though we still don't know what his endgame is. Following the Justice Gang's introduction, common sense says the director plans to eventually helm a Justice League movie.
Man of Tomorrow arrives in theaters on July 9, 2027.