James Gunn and David Corenswet hash out key ‘Superman’ speech in featurette

Playing a superhero requires a lot more than a brutal physical training regimen and a willingness to wear tights.

An actor also has to make extraordinary, larger-than-life circumstances believable to themselves so they can deliver an authentic performance for the audience. In a new behind-the-scenes feature, titled “Adventures in Making Superman,” featured as part of the extras for the digital release (available now) for this summer’s Superman, audiences get a firsthand look at the process between director James Gunn and star David Corenswet.

The video, currently making the rounds on social media, features Gunn and Corenswet having an impassioned discussion on set about Superman’s motivation during the film’s climactic speech and face-off between Superman and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).

In the scene in question (seen below, via Gunn’s official X account), Superman confronts Luthor, who continues to hurl insults at Superman and call him an “alien.” But Superman uses that moment to tell Lex that the implications hurt his feelings, which is exactly what makes him human — and that his humanity is what makes him strong.

“David comes in, gives his speech, and it’s really good and I’m like, ‘Thank god, I’m so happy it’s gonna work,'” Gunn says in the clip. “So I said, ‘Okay, David do one just louder, just more intense.’ … We start to film it, and then, all of a sudden, David stops, and I’m like, ‘Oh no, David’s doing his thing.'”

Gunn continues: “Let me talk about David for a minute. I love David. One of my favorite actors I’ve ever worked with. He is wonderful. He also questions everything.”

The clip features Corenswet explaining his acting process and why he stopped in that moment. “I came from the theater, so I love talking about text and what each word means and what each punctuation mark means, and I can piss people off doing that,” Corenswet notes. “I need it to make sense. I need to know what I’m trying to do.”

The featurette cuts back and forth between Gunn and Corenswet’s commentary on the scene and behind-the-scenes footage from the actual day on set. After some extended conversations in front of the crew — who Corenswet remembers “sitting around like, ‘Come on, let’s shoot. Let’s get this done,'” about the root of the character’s emotions and motivations, the actor joins Gunn off set, where Gunn has been giving notes from his director’s chair, for a more intimate chat.

Eventually, Gunn says, “There are feelings and there are thoughts. Your feelings about feeling bad are okay. It’s not wrong for you to feel that way. It’s not right or wrong anything. None of it is right or wrong. All of it is being vulnerable and being a human being, and in this moment, for you to talk about how it’s okay to be vulnerable, you have to be vulnerable, which means showing Lex that your f—ing feelings are hurt in the point when you really shouldn’t.”

That explanation clicks with Corenswet, and he immediately turns to head back to set. “[That] perfectly clarified what the character was doing in that moment and what I should be doing in that moment,” Corenswet says in his behind-the-scenes interview. “All the credit goes to James for saying that sentence and for sticking with me and the conversation long enough to get to that sentence because I didn’t make it easy for him.”

In the footage from set, we watch Corenswet go back and nail it, a final result which audiences can see on screen.

For Gunn, getting this speech right was essential to what he hoped to say about Superman in the film, which tackles themes of immigration, xenophobia, and what it is to belong.

“I got emotional a second ago because I really do think that what this movie is about is: Why do we love Superman so much?” he explained after Corenswet nailed the take. “Is it because he can punch planets or pick up skyscrapers? I don’t think it is. I think it’s because of his innate goodness and his humanity, even though he’s an alien. It’s okay that he’s being optimistic; it’s okay that he’s vulnerable. And that’s what the scene was about.”

The footage shows a respectful working relationship between director and actor, with both Gunn and Corenswet working to hear and deliver what the other needs.

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“There’s no anger in any of this at all,” Gunn says in the interview clip. “There’s no ego. There’s a reason why he’s asking these questions. Because it makes it better. David wrote me that night. He texted me, and he said, ‘That was my favorite day ever on set with a director,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I think it was my favorite day too.'”

Superman is available to purchase on digital now.