James Gunn on Making ‘Superman’ and DC Studios’ Future

James Gunn looks tired but energized as he settles into his chair for the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, having just flown in from Atlanta. He’s already into pre-production on “Man of Tomorrow,” the follow-up to this summer’s “Superman.” so exhaustion would be expected. Gunn is not only directing the film, but he’s also running DC Studios alongside Peter Safran — an unprecedented balancing act he calls “the hardest movie I’ve ever made.”

The conversation is taking place only two hours before the entertainment landscape shifted, with Netflix announcing an $82 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. — a reminder of how quickly the ground beneath the Hollywood industry, DC, and Gunn himself, continues to move.

Nonetheless, we’re talking about “Superman,” where Gunn leans in, his eyes brighten and discusses what drew him to the character — which wasn’t the scale or mythology.

“When I first talked to the cast and crew, I wanted to make something about goodness,” Gunn says. “This guy isn’t perfect, even though he’s Superman. He’s really just trying to do his best. He’s good-natured. He’s loving. He sees the best in everyone.”

That idea was Superman is not a god, but a sincere, sometimes awkward moral presence. That became Gunn’s anchor — and he credits Grant Morrison’s “All-Star Superman” for crystallizing that approach. “That was the thing that hooked me,” he shares. “That big lug of a superhero being genuinely kind. That’s what I took from the book.”

Unlike the relative freedom Gunn had with “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Superman came with a century’s worth of expectations, and of course, disagreements. “Everyone in the world thinks something different about Superman. Everybody knows who he is.”

The scrutiny extended beyond the cape. Gunn was aware that this film would be viewed as a referendum on the future of DC itself. “There were all the…