With only 14 months left before the inaugural film of Warner Bros.’ reimagined DC Comics film slate, director James Gunn shared a first look at at his Superman movie in the traditional way, by showing off a new take on the hero’s costume. But that’s not the only traditional thing about it.
Actor David Corenswet appears in a dusty version of the classic red and blue look, with an angular, seemingly Kingdom Come–inspired chest emblem, and its own set of modern texture lines. But if examined closely (ignore that glowing ball of energy outside, it’s probably fine) the photo also boasts a throwback detail not seen on a big screen Superman since before 2013’s Man of Steel: Red trunks.
When Superman set the standard that all future superhero costumes would definitionally reflect, it was in the imitation of athletic stage costumes of the 1930s: Brightly colored, form fitting, and with a set of trunks for modesty. But Superman spent most of the 2010s trunkless after a 2011 costume redesign; his costume just a textured blue sheath from neck to boot, broken only by a mostly ornamental red belt.
It’s that form that inspired the Superman costume of the Snyderverse. But just as DC Comics returned to the traditional red trunks for the one thousandth issue of Action Comics in 2018 to honor Superman’s enduring presence, it appears that Superman (previously known as Superman: Legacy) is looking to evoke an earlier age, or a broader consideration of Superman’s vibe.
That ball of purple and green energy (classic Lex Luthor colors) is certainly mysterious, but the clearest hint this picture has of what audiences will find in 2025’s Superman is sitting right in the seat of that chair. The textured lines and the angular S say modernity, even futurism, but the trunks? The trunks say tradition.
And James Gunn is steeped in enough comics and comics criticism to know it.
