David Corenswet and James Gunn’s Superman ending scene argument appears to have paid off for the final part of the DC story. As the flagship movie opening to the DCU timeline, a lot of pressure was on 2025’s Superman – both in terms of setting up the DCU, and in terms of matching up to previous Superman films.

While Superman is definitely its own distinct project, it manages to accomplish both of these tasks in its 2-hour-long runtime, and perhaps best within the dramatic twists and turns of its final act. However, it’s clear creating the Superman ending had its complications, especially given Superman actor David Corenswet and director James Gunn initially had differing perspectives on this finale.

David Corenswet & James Gunn’s Superman Ending Scene Argument Is One Of The Most Interesting Behind-The-Scenes Looks At The DCU Movie

The Adventures in the Making of Superman documentary – which goes over the filming of the movie, and provides behind-the-scenes insight into several key parts of the film – doesn’t have any boring parts. However, perhaps the most interesting part of this backstage look of sorts is the time the documentary dedicates to showing filming for the Superman ending.

The documentary delves into the fact that James Gunn and David Corenswet didn’t initially have the same perspective on how Superman could or should behave in his final confrontation with Lex Luthor. While Corenswet believed Superman’s conversation with Pa Kent would have solved his inner turmoil, Gunn felt Superman’s internal conflict wouldn’t be solved so easily.

This led to Corenswet going to talk to Gunn about how to film this part of the movie, and for clarification on how to think about this part of the story and Superman’s motivations and feelings at this stage in the plot.

Ultimately, Gunn was able to convey that this part of the film shows it’s okay for Superman to have feelings and be human in this sense, which the actor thanks him for explaining before returning to film the scene.

With Superman‘s ending being one of the most important parts of the film and its story, it’s fascinating to see the road that led to the final take. Though there have been a range of perspectives on this part of the documentary, in retrospect, this serves to show how and why the film’s ending resonated with so many.

David Corenswet & James Gunn’s Superman Ending Discussion Clearly Pays Off In The Final Film

Ultimately, the ending of Superman works because of the way Corenswet and Gunn are in alignment about who Superman is and what the DCU version of the character stands for. Kal-El’s conviction in the final scene is what sells the idea that Superman is human, however many powers he might also have to hand when the need arises.

Though Superman being emotional is a complicated matter for the movies and comics alike to cover, seeing the hero seem deeply frustrated in this scene conveys just how much he is just like the rest of us – and how much effort he thus has to put into being both a superhero and simply just a person who cares.

As it stands, the footage appears to show exactly how we got the final take that delivers on all of these concepts, since both Gunn and Corenswet are very specific in their conversation about how exactly Superman would ideally behave in this climactic final part of the film.

Without this, it’s easy to see how some of the nuance of what Gunn intended for this scene could have been lost – or how Corenswet could have delivered on these lines, but without some elements of what worked, if he hadn’t fully known what the director was angling for as specifically as he did after their conversation about the matter.

Superman’s Ending Scene Is Promising For The Future Of The Franchise

Though comments about Corenswet and Gunn’s initial disagreement on the Superman ending meaning their visions about the hero are entirely different are perhaps inevitable, this interaction arguably speaks to a more promising concept for the future: namely, one of open discussion and collaboration.

With the DC Universe setting up to be its own extensive and expansive cinematic universe – and with Superman as one of its figureheads – there will surely come points in future DCU movies and shows wherein certain visions about characters, worlds and stories inevitably aren’t exactly identical. With this in mind, ensuring dialogues about these topics remain open is crucial.

In a world where even fans who have read the exact same Superman comics often don’t see exactly eye-to-eye about who Superman is and how he would behave, this is especially imperative. And it’ll likely only become more and more key as more releases debut, and Superman’s arc and the lore of the DCU become more complex.

In the end, the positive reception to Superman is in no small way thanks to the satisfying manner in which the DCU movie finishes its story. As such, it seems every conversation that went into getting the final take of the scene was worth it, even if the complexities of the finale mean it may not have been totally straightforward.