Superman director James Gunn and star David Corenswet reveal why the movie introduced again the traditional purple trunks, and the reply might be the most effective rationalization anybody has given. Superman has one of the vital iconic superhero costumes of all time, although one frequent supply of criticism has been the purple trunks on the skin of his costume. In 2011, The New 52 relaunch removed the purple trunks, with Zack Snyder’s Man of Metal popularizing the concept of a brand new “trunkless” Superman for mainstream audiences. When David Corenswet’s Superman costume was first unveiled, the return of the purple trunks sparked a lot dialogue.
Talking with Fandango, Gunn and Corenswet spoke concerning the lengthy strategy of bringing the trunks again to the character. Gunn talked about how he wished the purple trunks since that was the traditional Superman look he grew up with, however struggled with discovering a approach to make them plausible. He credit star David Corenswet for offering a proof for why the trunks have been a crucial a part of the character to make folks much less afraid of his energy. Corenswet mentioned:
“The issue is, they appear kinda foolish. You [Gunn] have been on the lookout for a approach to make them look cool or a perform and rationalization. My factor was, ‘Possibly they’re speculated to look just a little foolish.’ Possibly the rationale he wears them is to look just a little foolish. To principally undermine how highly effective he actually is.”

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“We actually went forwards and backwards rather a lot concerning the purple trunks.”
Gunn continued, saying:
“On this model of the DCU, everybody is aware of he’s an alien. He shoots beams out of his eyes. He can blow issues down together with his breath. He’s form of this terrifying creature. However he actually favored children and human beings and other people. He needs children to not be afraid of him. And that was the factor that made me resolve to maintain the trunks.”
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With the character typically being accused of “sporting his underwear on the skin,” the DCU is opting to embrace that silliness of Superman and make it a part of the character to essentially set Corenswet’s model other than the one performed by Henry Cavill, which was a a lot darker and extra “feared” iteration than some other. Intentional or not, it has rather a lot in frequent with DC: The New Frontier’s in-universe rationalization of why Batman went from the lone wolf determine of the Nineteen Thirties to the extra family-friendly character from the Fifties and ’60s, the place The Darkish Knight tells Superman, “I got down to scare criminals, not kids.”
Gunn’s design for the Superman costume pulls from many various comedian eras. The S-shield is taken from 1996’s Kingdom Come, however the neck collar is pulled from the New 52 redesign. Combining the traditional purple trunks with these parts helps the DCU Superman really feel distinct and traditional, like everybody’s thought of Superman, but additionally a novel interpretation that has not been seen earlier than on display screen.
With Superman ticket gross sales topping Fandango’s greatest ticket vendor of 2025, it appears to be like just like the summer time of Superman is in full swing. After years of Superman seeming too old-school for a contemporary viewers, taking part in second fiddle to Batman, it looks like audiences are in want of a traditional hero. He is not corny or tacky, however simply good for the sake of fine and that appears to be one thing the world wants proper now.
Supply: Fandango

Superman
- Launch Date
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July 11, 2025
- Director
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James Gunn
- Producers
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Lars P. Winther, Peter Safran