James Gunn released the very first movie in his new DC Cinematic Universe over the weekend with Superman. The film currently sits around 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, with many fans praising David Corenswet’s performance as a “gee golly” version of the character. However, a significant change within the plot of the film includes Superman learning more about his birth parents while in the Fortress of Solitude.
The film features a transmission from Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan as Jor-el and Lara before the destruction of their home planet of Krypton. The roles were made famous by Marlon Brando in the original 70’s films and Russell Crowe in 2013’s Man of Steel. While speaking on the casting with Deadline, director James Gunn adds:
“A lot of times, Jor-El is played by a 70-year-old man and that means he was 70 when he had a baby, so I wanted somebody that wasn’t too old. Everyone was bringing up all these actors that were too old for me. I think Bradley was perfect, he did it for me as a favor because he’s my friend, and I really appreciated him doing it.”
While the cameo appearance from Cooper was met with much praise, the change to Jor-el and Lara has been met with disappointment. Within the plot of the film, Superman learns he wasn’t sent by his birth planet to Earth to save mankind as a hero, but to conquer Earth. As well as to have multiple wives and raise a multitude of offspring like him. Which sounds more like Omni-Man’s mission in Invinicible than Superman. It’ll be interesting if Gunn keeps this change moving forward or retcons it in future installments.
Superman is out today in theaters
