DC Universe star David Corenswet finally speaks out on the argument with James Gunn during the filming of Superman. 2025 marked a succesful year for the DCU’s Chapter 1: “Gods and Monsters” slate, with Krypton’s last son making his return to the big screen, featuring Corenswet as the latest take on the beloved superhero.
During Variety’s Actors on Actors, with the conversation taking place between Corenswet and Jonathan Bailey, the DCU’s Man of Steel was finally asked about the video that went viral earlier this year, where he and Gunn had an argument captured on camera on the Superman set. The conversation went as follows:
Bailey: There’s amazing footage of you and James having an extraordinary conversation. Obviously, this is coming with such privilege to be able to say this, but certain career paths are very restrictive. It feels entirely right to be curious all the time. And the conversation you had with James was so brilliant because — God, this is such a nerd thing to say, but — I always think there should be tension, but not friction. And that was such a good example. It was actually kind of vulnerable. You have to be able to make those mistakes.
Corenswet: I love that. Tension without friction. Because friction creates unnecessary heat.
Bailey: And it’s not economic. You hemorrhage energy, whereas tension holds energy.
Corenswet: I feel so lucky that that is on film, and it was interesting hearing from people what they thought of it — everything from, “Well, that’s what always happens,” all the way to, “What a terrible working environment.” For me, it does happen all the time. It was amazing how indefatigable James was. He very rarely got fed up with me, because I think he knew that the reason I’m having those conversations with him is, at my boldest, because I think I might see something that he doesn’t see and he might value. I never want any director to say, “Fine. If you need that, go do it.” I’m not doing it just for me. I might see something here that you actually like, and then you’ll feel like it’s yours.
Corenswet added, “But on the other end, I don’t know how to do a good job otherwise.” He shared how he “got this criticism in theater school quite a lot, and that was a good lesson to learn. As an actor, you do need to let go. As a young actor, you’re sort of waiting to feel ready to make the action.”
The DCU lead commented that, “There’s a practice of just, ‘Walk before you’re ready to walk. Just say the line before you’re ready to say the line.‘” Bailey chimed in with, “That’s what we do as humans, isn’t it?“
Corenswet: I think we do it at our most interesting. And as actors, you don’t want to just be human. You want to be humans at their most interesting, dynamic, dramatic moments. Drama is life with all the boring bits cut out.
Following massively positive Superman movie reviews, the installment is sitting on 83% in the Critics’ Score and 90% on the Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes. Gunn’s film became the highest-grossing superhero entry of 2025, and the DCU is just getting started with Corenswet’s leading hero.
After the Superman movie ending, the hero will be reunited with Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor in Man of Tomorrow, a continuation of Gunn’s 2025 entry. The film, which is set to start shooting in April 2026, will see the two coming together against Brainiac as the reported villain.
Per Gunn, the Man of Tomorrow movie will be a story “about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together to a certain degree against a much, much bigger threat. It’s more complicated than that, but that’s a big part of it.” He stressed that “It’s as much a Lex movie as it is a Superman movie. I loved working with Nicholas Hoult. I relate to the character of Lex, sadly. I really wanted to create something extraordinary with the two of them. I just love the script so much.”
Superman is available on streaming and through home media release, while Man of Tomorrow flies into theaters on July 9, 2027.
Release Date
July 11, 2025
Runtime
130 minutes
Producers
Peter Safran
