Superhero fandom can be a wonderful thing, providing a haven for nerds of all kinds to come together to celebrate their favorite fictional characters. It can also lead to some pretty heated discussions about the intricacies of how these different characters should be portrayed, and James Gunn discovered how seriously many fans took these debates when he started working on “Superman.” Specifically, the director and co-head of DC Studios quickly discovered that Superman fans really care whether or not the character wears briefs.
Yes, it turns out that Superman’s underpants are the source of a lot of controversy, which surprised Gunn when it came time to design the costume for his film. During a 2025 appearance on the “Smartless” podcast, Gunn revealed that he “wasn’t aware of this conversation” until he started working on the film’s costume design, and he had no idea how controversial a topic Superman’s trunks were. “I’m sure someone would kill someone else over the argument over whether Superman should have trunks or not,” the newly enlightened director said.
Indeed, fans have been wondering for some time whether Supes should be chestless or not, both in terms of comics and on-screen depictions. While this might seem like a fairly minor aspect of the character (which it kind of is), it also represents something bigger, as evidenced by the fact that Gunn himself quickly found himself conflicted over whether to put trunks on his version of Superman (which differs from other on-screen iterations in important ways).
James Gunn was shocked by the fervor surrounding Superman trunks
A vestige of the strongman aesthetic that influenced early superhero designs, Superman’s trunks have become a subject of incessant debate over the years. This debate only intensified in the era of the superhero blockbuster, and James Gunn was completely unprepared for it. That’s a bit surprising, given that the “Guardians of the Galaxy” director (who spoke to /Film about the balance between sadness and hope in “Superman”) is a well-known comic book fan and has taken great pleasure in featuring lesser-known characters in his films. However, this admittedly obscure aspect of superhero discourse apparently surprised the man.
“We think our world is divided between Republicans and Democrats and everyone is fighting about it,” he said during his “Smartless” appearance. “It’s because there are whole factions of people who […] barely know who Donald Trump is and all they care about is whether Superman has trunks or not. » Although he was initially surprised by the intensity of the debate, Gunn quickly found himself fretting over the decision of whether or not to add trunks to his version of the character.
Referencing Henry Cavill’s trunkless Superman in “Man of Steel,” Gunn told the “Smartless” hosts, “Zack Snyder came in and it was like the dark, meaner, cool version of Superman, and he didn’t have a trunk. And so when Zack took the trunks off, there were tons of fans who were outraged.” So it seems like Gunn was really in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation with the trunks, so what made him decide to restore Superman’s pants?
James Gunn Came To Take Superman’s Trunks As Seriously As Fans
As he prepared to reintroduce the Man of Steel to the general public, James Gunn actually took Zack Snyder’s advice on a Superman detail. Yes, the trunks. Even though Gunn had a very clear guideline for Superman’s costume, he had a hard time deciding whether to keep that particular look, and he even found that Snyder went through the same struggle. Gunn told Screen Brief that Snyder told him he went through “about a billion drafts with the trunks and just never got there,” something Gunn could relate to. “I didn’t know about trunks,” he admitted. “I wanted to use the trunks, but I couldn’t, I kept taking them off. And I walk in, it’s very colorful, the trunks are up, and I’m like, ‘God, I don’t know. It’s so colorful.'” The deciding factor? star David Corenswet, who, when asked by Gunn what he thought of the trunks, replied, “I love it.”
It was the right choice for many reasons. As Gunn pointed out in his episode “Smartless,” “The truth is, Superman has always had trunks in the comics.” But beyond that, “Superman” is a silly but charming, crowd-pleasing film that seems designed as an antidote to the dour, serious superheroism of the old DC Extended Universe or “Snyderverse.” Rather than being a stoic model of truth and goodness, Gunn’s Superman film, as described by Corenswet, is a bit silly. This was entirely intentional, as Gunn wanted to signal to audiences that his burgeoning DC Universe heralded a change of pace for the struggling intellectual property. So, as insignificant as they may seem to most casual viewers, the trunks have become emblematic of this lighter tone, which in turn represents a significant shift in the way Warner Bros. and DC will represent their heroes in the future.
