James Gunn delivered an informative update on the production of Superman, and it is a positive sign for the DCU and the movie industry as a whole. Superman will be released on July 11, 2025, and will be the first cinematic installment of Gunn's new DC Universe. Despite the release date being so far away, principal photography for Superman wrapped recently, giving a huge window in which to complete post-production, of which a huge part will be perfecting the movie's visual effects.
James Gunn was recently questioned about his approach to VFX on Threads, where he stated that he ensures artists working on all of his movies receive ample time in which to complete their work. The interaction can be seen below:
Gunn, who has also worked on VFX-heavy comic book movies like the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and The Suicide Squad, points to his previous body of work as evidence before stating that VFX collaborators deserve the respect of enough lead-time.
James Gunn's Superman Update Explains Why Filming Wrapped Over A Year Before Its Release
Superman's Year-Long Window Is Plenty Of Time To Perfect VFX
Superman began filming in late February 2024 and wrapped five months later in late July 2024. This is a pretty standard timeline for a movie of Superman's scale, but the year-long gap between wrapping and the intended release date is noticeably vast. Gunn has provided a clear reason for this that not only makes sense for the production that will kick off a new era of DC movies but should also be lauded as best practice.
Set photos for Superman have revealed that myriad elements of Superman such as costumes are being depicted through practical effects - which is often the preferable choice in modern superhero movies. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that Superman will be just as replete with computer-generated spectacles as Gunn's previous superhero movies. Giving the VFX team an entire year in which to render these sequences believably and with as much visual flair as possible is imperative as Superman will set the standard for what audiences can expect from remaining DCU movies.
The promo image that revealed David Corenswet's Superman's costume depicted some otherworldly event in the background that suggests some significant CGI will be used in Superman .
Why James Gunn's Superman Approach Should Be A Lesson To Hollywood
The extended post-production period on Superman is honestly a practice that other movie studios and filmmakers should care to replicate. Marvel Studios seem to have had the epiphany that delivering quality over quantity is now of paramount importance to the success of the MCU, and there are few audiences that would argue against giving a movie they are excited about more time to cook if it meant turning in the highest quality product possible.
In the past, Hollywood horror stories of nightmare productions would gain almost mythical status, with troubled set stories making certain films notorious. What happened behind the cameras on the likes of Jaws and Apocalypse Now is just as much a part of their mythos as what they showed on screen. With the rise of the digital age and a greater skew towards heavier post-production workloads, that has shifted to an unfortunate rise in reports of effects team crunch and difficult expectations.
Gunn's continued promise to give his VFX teams time to do the work they need to not only guarantees the time to create a solid final product free of the kind of shortcuts that lead to poor - and widely mocked CGI - but also sets a positive working standard. Deadlines will always be a thing in Hollywood, because of budgetary concerns, but it should never come at the cost of the human work force. Ultimately, James Gunn's decision for Superman to take its time in development should be seen as a positive move and a good sign overall for the DCU.
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