Last summer, I traveled to Cleveland and visited the set of Superman, the first movie production of the newly launched DC Universe. The project is codenamed “Genesis” and it’s day 65 of 88 of the shoot, a warm June afternoon, the sidewalks buzzing with curious onlookers hoping to glimpse the Man of Steel as production moved to a very public location after primarily shooting on stages for months.
Even from behind the barricades, where picture cars were placed strategically to block the street view, it was clear this wasn’t the kind of Superman production that tiptoes into its story. From the debris-strewn streets to the mᴀssive blue screens rising behind vintage storefronts, everything suggested that the world of Metropolis was already fully formed, and already in trouble.
We spent the better part of the day inside a windowless room of the Daily Planet, seeing more from the production via unofficial set pH๏τos popping up on social media as they sH๏τ scenes outside with Superman in full costume. We conducted a series of interviews before heading out to see the action ourselves later in the afternoon.
James Gunn, director and writer of Superman, and co-CEO of DC Studios alongside partner Peter Safran, explained the already-established approach to his DC Universe which technically began with the animated HBO Max series Creature Commandos:
“We just start in the middle of the action. Superman’s already existing. Lois and Clark already know each other. Lex hates Superman’s guts from the beginning, although they don’t know each other personally. So we start right in the middle of the action. It takes place over a short amount of time.”
This Superman adaptation doesn’t waste time retelling an origin. Instead, despite being the first film in the DC Universe, the universe is very much already there and this story unfolds over just five or six days, a compressed timeline that amps up the urgency. David Corenswet told us it was both thrilling and daunting to start this movie at full tilt, opening with a battle sequence:
“You’re seeing Superman right in the middle of a big fight, the fight of his life at that point… although he doesn’t win. To have that be the jumping off point for the rest of the story was really fun.”
Nicholas Hoult, stepping into Lex Luthor’s shoes, echoed the idea that this film doesn’t spoon-feed the audience:
“With Lex, he’s already developed or devised all these plans of how to defeat Superman and you’re playing catch-up in terms of what’s at play and the plans unfurling in front of you.”
That sense of immediacy was everywhere on set when we observed filming later in the day. Crew members adjusted lighting rigs while extras in military fatigues, or dressed up as escaped prisoners and police officers were ushered into position. A crew member quietly maneuvered a duct-taped football on a stick that stood in for Krypto for Corenswet’s Superman to interact with in a touching moment. Even the simplest detail hinted at a larger world already in motion.
The Bright and Hopeful Tone of Superman
Nostalgia, Americana, Timelessness, Bright, Colorful, Hopeful.
Walking through a section of downtown Metropolis after our first set of interviews, what struck me most wasn’t just the scale of the production, it was the color. From vivid reds and blues on the signage to the warm golden light bouncing off brick facades, to the vibrant costumes, everything seemed designed to feel optimistic.
Production Designer Beth Mickle shared how intentional this brightness was. “The Superman incarnations that we’re most familiar with from the 2000s have been kind of heavier and darker,” she said. “What we really wanted to do was really brighten everything up and really light enough to make it hopeful, hopeful, hopeful.”
She described a palette more vivid than any past Superman film:
“It’s far more colorful… lots of blues, reds, golds, but then oranges and greens interspersed… bright, vivid, saturated color.”
Rachel Brosnahan, who brings Lois Lane to life in this DC Universe, called it a timely shift, saying it “It feels hopeful, rather than explicitly comedic to me. I think one of the things I love about so many of James’s movies is that they’re a real sH๏τ in the arm of hope. They remind you that the reason people love comic books is because they teach us that superheroes aren’t the only superheroes. They aren’t the only ones with important powers in these worlds,” she continues. “They remind us the importance of courage and tenacity and interest in each other’s well-being. What it means to be in service of the greater good. And I think we could really use a sH๏τ in the arm of hope right now.”
“It feels hopeful rather than explicitly comedic… I think we could really use a sH๏τ in the arm of hope right now.”
Mickle summed up their guiding principles with a list that felt like the production’s mantra: “Some of the leading words we’ve used are nostalgia, Americana, timelessness, bright, colorful, hopeful.”
David Corenswet Transforming Into Superman
How much weight did David Corenswet gain to play a gentle nerd?
When we spoke with David Corenswet, he still seemed a little astonished that it was all real. He had been wearing the Superman suit for months, yet the scale of it hadn’t fully sunk in. Part of that was the transformation he put himself through before filming even started.
“I gained 40 pounds from July to November,” he said. “I was going to the gym for 2.5 hours, getting home and pᴀssing out, sleeping for 2 hours, and then sleeping 9 hours a night.” He was quick to clarify it wasn’t all muscle: “It was definitely not 40 pounds of muscle… I gained 40 pounds of flesh and water.”
Corenswet described how the Superman of All-Star Superman inspired his performance:
“The gentle nerdiness of Superman… he has this man cave with relics and fun things he’s collected… the gentle loneliness of that, without any sense of dark brooding.”
He admitted that playing Clark was, in some ways, the richer experience. “Playing Clark is more fun,” he told us. “You always have a secret.”
More than anything, Corenswet said he wanted to show Superman as someone hopeful rather than aloof. “I really like Superman as a very hopeful character, both as a symbol of hope, but also as a person who just happens to have a somewhat rosy outlook on the world.”
Even after landing the part, while describing himself as skeptical, Corenswet emphasizes that he didn’t take the commitment lightly:
“Hesitate is not quite the right word, but I paused, and I really thought about it. It was not a no brainer to say yes to it. It took a lot of my brains, and a lot of thinking, and a lot of conversations with my loved ones to see whether this was a thing that was worth doing. And mostly, the answer did end up being it was at least an adventure worth taking.”
For what it’s worth, it must be noted that David very much embodied what I’d expect from sitting in a room with Superman. Beyond his physical presence, after seeing him as a hero in costume on set, he brought his dog Ira into the room with us and he made sure every single person had the opportunity to ask a question.
Like his co-star Rachel Brosnahan, the pair speak eloquently about the project and their roles. They are natural leaders and strong ambᴀssadors for what DC Studios is planning for its long-term future.
Lois Lane and the Daily Planet Newsroom
Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White Together Again
The Daily Planet sets were crafted from several locations with Cleveland representing the exterior and lobby. The Terminal Station in Macon, Georgia was host to the interiors. All of the shooting on stages took place in Atlanta but they really wanted to get to another city with more of a mix of architecture and time periods for the locations shoots.
They looked at Toronto and Chicago, but ultimately landed on Cleveland which was the most fitting as it’s the birthplace of Superman. There’s even an exhibit at Cleveland airport dedicated to Superman that you cannot miss upon arrival.
As we entered the Daily Planet building, crew members and extras in retro-inspired clothes hustled across polished floors, and it felt organically like Superman loomed over every headline.
For Rachel Brosnahan, the chance to play Lois Lane felt both inevitable and surreal. “The Donner Superman movies are some of my favorites. Margot Kidder is an icon of mine,” she told us. “I always grew up feeling like I related to this character, as somebody who was hungry and ambitious.”
This Lois, she said, doesn’t need rescuing. “She’s never been a damsel in distress. She’s always been so hungry and so relentless in her pursuit of the truth that she gets herself in trouble.”
Costume Designer Judianna Makovsky shared that practicality was the guiding principle for the character. “Lois is a real reporter. It’s not about fashion.” Makovsky continues, explaining how Lois’s clothes are very functional and simple in an effort to make the character more grounded.
Skyler Gisondo, who plays Jimmy Olsen and initially thought he was auditioning for the role of Superman, albeit a very different Superman, described the atmosphere in the Daily Planet, on and off set, as unusually тιԍнт-knit. “It kind of feels like we’re at summer camp,” he said. “We work together, then we all have dinner together, and we’re all hanging out all the time.”
He loved how Jimmy fits into the newsroom hierarchy. “Jimmy and Clark are like buddies at the Daily Planet. Also, I think Jimmy really does love Superman. He thinks that he’s doing things right. But I think Jimmy would be the last person in the world to suspect that Clark is Superman.”
Wendell Pierce, Beck Bennett, and Mikela Hoover, who play Perry White, Steve Lombard, and Cat Grant, respectively, shared how the Daily Planet has its own internal drama. Pierce said, “All the news that’s fit to print is in [Perry’s] head all the time. I want that! But if it’s sensational, it’s going above the fold.”
While Hoover says Cat Grant thinks of Clark as “dreamy,” Pierce admits that Perry doesn’t think much of Clark but wants that Superman lead that Clark seems to be able to get. Bennett describes Clark Kent with a grin, “Steve thinks he’s a little bit of a country bumpkin… just a boring, plain, uninteresting writer.” Hoover jumped in later, without missing a beat, as the group playfully teased each other about their roles, practically in character:
“Steve’s an ᴀsshole.”
We also spoke with Sara Sampaio, who plays Eve Teschmacher, a character who works for Lex. She summed up the spirit of the ensemble: “It almost feels like a small movie, even though it’s obviously a big production, but it just feels very family. It just feels very connected, and a lot of the bonding experience.”
Nicholas Hoult Brings Lex Luthor to Life
James Gunn’s Lex Luthor Is Driven to Protect Humanity
Nicholas Hoult tells us that despite auditioning for the тιтle role of Superman he always suspected Lex was the part he was meant to play. “I had a funny little itch or inkling a couple of times, reading the script, where I looked at a scene and I was like, ‘Maybe you’d be good at Lex.’”
This version of Lex isn’t simply a villain. He’s driven by something deeper. “One of the things I really love about this version,” he explained, “is that all his beliefs and fears are what drive him, but in some ways, that drive is real.”
“What he’s wary of with what Superman represents is something that could be a real danger and threat to humanity. That was something that I really liked in terms of first trying to get into the psyche of the character. It was this idea that, when you’re playing a villain, it’s easy to be like, “I’m the bad guy,” but actually, if you stand back and look at this, it’s his beliefs and almost his love of humanity and protection, and this idea that they should be masters of their own faith and destiny is important to him.”
It’s Superman’s alienness that fuels Lex’s resentment: “He’s an alien. He doesn’t belong here, and he shouldn’t be interfering in our affairs.”
Hoult described Lex’s carefully curated public image as a shield for his more ruthless instincts:
“He’s more [of a] tech billionaire, so I think one of the things that he values, probably quite highly, and you see lost throughout the film, perhaps, is this public image of how people view him. He’s managed to keep his more nefarious tactics and things at play kind of more hidden so that he does appear to be someone who’s only there for good.”
As writer and director James Gunn stepped into our room during the conversation, Hoult tells us that underneath that control, he sees this Lex Luthor as someone perpetually on the edge:
“I almost view him as being, in my mind, someone who has high peaks and valleys emotionally, but is very intellectual and advanced … the smartest people are often the ones who see the most and understand the most, and they’re more likely to be driven insane by the world, I guess, because they understand and see more of the truth of it. And I feel that is somewhat how I view Lex and his mind.
Sara Sampaio tells us it was remarkable watching Hoult shift so quickly between his natural warmth and Lex’s icy menace. “He’s so bubbly, and then as soon as he hears ‘action,’ he just becomes Lex Luthor, and it’s so cool.”
Hoult said working under James Gunn made it easier to trust his instincts: “I have complete trust and faith in James… If he’s happy, then hopefully we’ve got something unique and that represents the character well.”
Mister Terrific and the DC Heroes Around Superman
Mister Terrific, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl Make Their DC Universe Debuts
While Superman, Lois, and Lex are the most iconic figures in the film, James Gunn has carved out space for a broader community of heroes, including Michael Holt, better known as Mister Terrific. Edi Gathegi was on set the day of our visit and seemed both humbled and delighted to join the DC Universe. “The first time that I put the whole thing together,” he said, “I felt like I could save the world.”
This version of Mister Terrific isn’t just a sidekick or a comic relief character, and he gets the most screentime out of his little team which includes Guy Gardner, a Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), and Kendra Saunders a.k.a. Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). “Superman thinks that Mister Terrific is his BFF. It’s not true,” Gathegi explained with a grin. “Our version of Mr. Terrific is a little bit more complex… he’s a little grumpy.”
Gathegi teased the intellectual rivalry that fuels parts of the story. “There is a battle of the brains,” he said, hinting at confrontations with Lex Luthor. Both are described on the day to me as being some of the most intelligent people on Earth.
Fans will recognize the character’s signature technology, but Gathegi said the team took care to make it fresh. “If you can’t tell, this is pretty comic accurate,” he said. “The T-Craft is what he’s driving outside… I think little kids are going to see it and go, ‘I must get that for Christmas.’” Makovsky told us earlier in the day that Mister Terrific’s costume is the most comic accurate of the film’s roster.
One of the most striking design challenges was reimagining Mister Terrific’s mask, something that at first was a point of contention for Gathegi. “The face mask resembled blackface to me,” Gathegi admitted.
“It wasn’t until I dove into the comics and understood the technology and the purpose and the functionality of the mask that it became a cool mask, something that’s actually functional. This is a nanotechnology that actually can appear on his face, but it protects his entire face. So this is not the area it protects. It protects the entire face. This is just a manifestation.”
He also described the demanding physical preparation. “I gained 20 pounds… eight months of no carbs.”
His audition process was as memorable as the role itself. “James called me on Zoom and said, ‘You’re not testing against anybody. It’s just you testing.’”
When asked about his hopes for the character’s future, he didn’t hesitate:
“I think they’re making a statement with Mr. Terrific in this film, so the hope – at least my hope – is it’ll expand.”
Designing a Timeless Metropolis and Superman’s Other Set Pieces
Superman shooting Primarily Took Place In Atlanta, Cleveland and Svalbard, Norway
Metropolis in James Gunn’s DC universe doesn’t feel like a glossy CGI metropolis or a pure period piece. Instead, it’s a city that looks like it’s always existed, a place where mid-century storefronts stand alongside contemporary cafes, and a giant jellyfish might drift past your window.
ILM built the entire world of the film digitally, so the production would always know what characters would see from where they stand, an example being in how they lit the first-look image of Superman putting on his boots in his apartment with the giant jellyfish in the background sky.
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Beth Mickle, Superman’s production designer, said that timelessness was deliberate. “You’ll see the signage… everything from contemporary cafes to an old 1950s dress store… we want it to feel like it could be anywhere.”
The Fortress of Solitude was a chance to reimagine one of Superman’s most famous settings. “We reoriented our crystals so it has a different shape,” Mickle explained. “It was inspired by the way ocean waves splash against rocks and freeze.” Inside, the fortress feels less like a shrine and more like Clark Kent’s hidden refuge. “James really wanted it to be kind of a man cave,” she said.
The Kent farm is similarly understated. Rather than a sprawling farmhouse, the team chose a more modest, lived-in home. “We kept the old shag carpet,” Mickle said, a little amused.
And then there’s the giant jellyfish. When the very first official image of David Corenswet’s Superman was released, featuring Clark putting on his boots in front of a window where an alien jellyfish hovered in the background, fans went wild trying to decode it or complain about the nonchalant vibe in what they ᴀssumed was imminent threat. Mickle laughed off the speculation:
“It’s just something in the background. It’s just something that’s happening, but it really doesn’t mean anything in the story. I think it’s kind of like what metropolis is like, ‘oh, sometimes we have a giant jellyfish out in the back.’ That just happens in our world.”
“Yeah, I think if anything the image conveys more of a sensibility than a story beat,” Executive Producer Chantal Nong added. “There’s something so casual and low key about what he’s doing in it.”
Creating Authentic Superman Costumes
In James Gunn’s Superman, superhero costumes are uniforms and not muscle suits
From the start, James Gunn and costume designer Judianna Makovsky agreed: Superman’s suit shouldn’t look like armor or something magical. It should look like clothing, a uniform, not a disguise.
“It is not a fake muscle suit. It is clothing,” Makovsky, who previously worked with Gunn on the Guardians of the Galaxy sequels and The Suicide Squad, said. “It isn’t a magic suit. It’s a suit. It’s clothes.”
That meant there was no plan for the suit to evolve or change over the story. “There is only one costume. No evolution,” she confirmed so don’t expect any new suit reveals or flashbacks to earlier designs.
Though the decision of whether or not to give Superman his red trunks was widely debated up until the night before shooting, Makovsky kept iterating on designs in case they did decide to go forward with it, that they’d have something that worked.
For Corenswet’s own part, he tells us that he was locked in on wanting the trunks all along, and argued that the red trunks make him feel more approachable for children, comparing the idea to a wrestler’s outfit.
Even the design of the iconic “S” logo was an exercise in restraint and confidence. “I always thought it was elegant and modern and clean,” Makovsky said, describing how the shape updates a classic silhouette without feeling self-conscious. The Superman logo, it should be noted, was known and locked in since day one, inspired by the Kingdom Come comics.
Lois Lane’s wardrobe followed the same philosophy. Makovsky emphasized that Rachel Brosnahan’s look had to feel authentic to a reporter chasing leads across Metropolis:
“Lois is a real reporter… it’s very functional.”
The result is a film where no one looks like they stepped out of a toy box, and where Superman’s humanity feels as visible as the red and blue of his suit.
Superman Is A Standalone Movie Without Required Viewing
James Gunn’s DC Universe Will Be “Consistent But Not Connected”
In an era when so many superhero films feel like elaborate prologues for the next installment, James Gunn wanted to make sure this Superman could stand alone. When we asked him whether the film was designed to set up sequels, he didn’t mince words:
“Zero. Zero. I mean, maybe two little things, two moments, but basically if something’s there just to set up something else, ҒUCҜ it.”
Executive Producer Chantal Nong explained that while everything connects on some level, no movie in this new DC slate will rely on cliffhangers to justify itself. “Every film and television show is its own unique thing… not handcuffed by it,” she said.
Executive VP of publicity and communications for DC Studios, Candice McDonough, chimed in during one of our conversations, summing up the approach simply: “Consistent but not connected.” For David Corenswet, this clarity mattered to him as well. “They will compromise a timeline rather than compromise a film,” he told us, sounding relieved that he didn’t need to memorize the entire extended universe before showing up to set.
It’s a philosophy that makes Superman feel like a genuine fresh start rather than an obligation to catch up.
What I took away from my Superman Set Visit Experience
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After spending a day around a battle-scarred block of Metropolis, meeting superheroes in costume, and listening to the cast and crew of Superman describe their vision, it was hard not to feel like something genuinely new was happening here.
This is, after all, another Superman movie, another retelling of a story we’ve all absorbed in one form or another since childhood. But it’s also a reclamation of what makes this character endure in the first place: not just power, but decency. Not just spectacle, but hope.
If James Gunn’s vision succeeds, and so much is riding on this one movie, it won’t be because it reinvented Superman into something unfamiliar. It will be because it reminded us why we ever believed in him in the first place.
More from our Superman set visit coverage:
- Rachel Brosnahan on playing Lois Lane for 10-15 years in the DC Universe
- Edi Gathegi’s issue with Mister Terrific that reading the comics solved
- One Daily Reporter can’t figure out Clark Kent’s secret
- How many pounds of muscle did Edi Gathegi and David Corenswet put on for Superman?
- Superman’s opening battle does something surprising but important
- The 30 biggest reveals from visiting James Gunn’s Superman set
Stills provided by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Custom art provided by TextlessPoster and Komix Bro. PH๏τos by Rob Keyes.
