Superman is one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2025 and is part of an already stacked line of blockbusters set to premiere during the summer. Moreover, Superman is also set to be the first feature film in the brand-new DC Universe and help further the story of the Gods and Monsters saga that began with Creature Commandos, released in late 2024 on the streaming service Max. Needless to say, a lot is riding on Superman to be successful. Written and directed by James Gunn, there are sure to be all the elements the filmmaker is known for: his stylistic action, heartfelt story, and, of course, humor.
According to a new tidbit of information from Insider Matthew Belloni, the upcoming Superman film is sure to have plenty of comedic moments. In a specific quote from Belloni on The Town podcast, he would say: “I have been told by people at Warners that there’s a lot of humor in [Superman].” When looking at Gunn’s filmography, this isn’t necessarily surprising, especially due to how the writer/director conveys some of the struggles and pains of his characters through humorous dialogue and interactions.

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This may raise some concerns, especially among fans of the previous DC films and Superman movies specifically, which featured a much more serious tone and gravitas to the character. Movies like Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice portrayed the last son of Krypton in a much more tragic light, with infrequent moments of humor for the character.
James Gunn’s Tonal Balance in His Past Works Should Speak for Itself

Warner Bros.

The marketing for Superman has already caused a stir regarding its humor, with the most recent Superbowl ad for the movie drawing attention to the more quirky style of Gunn’s humor. The ad featured Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern Guy Gardner, showing off his bowl cut. While there were plenty of positive responses, there were also negative ones that complained about the lack of seriousness taken towards a supporting hero in the story. However, those familiar with Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy will know that the director knows how to handle the dramatic as much as the humorous.
Underneath all the toilet humor in the Guardians of the Galaxy films is a story about broken characters learning to deal with their past trauma and loving themselves despite dark pasts that used to define them. Superman is a character that is also meant to embody hope, and while that isn’t necessarily directly connected to humor, a more lighthearted tone is to be expected from a story about a god-like character with old-fashioned ideals that make him more human than his enemies.
With the movie only a few months out until release, fans will eventually find out for themselves how much of Gunn’s signature humor makes it into the final cut of the movie. The director has an impressive track record with his Marvel projects, creating both some of the funniest scenes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as some of the saddest, so it’s hard not to have some faith in the filmmaker who usually finds himself resonating with the most tragic characters in his ensembles.
Source: The Town Podcast

Superman

Release Date

July 11, 2025

Director

James Gunn

Producers

Lars P. Winther, Peter Safran