James Gunn’s Superman Suit Is Divisive for a Great Reason

With filming complete on 2025’s Superman, the eagerly anticipated reboot of DC’s flagship superhero and the DCU shared cinematic universe, audiences have already gotten an early look at Superman’s new suit in the James Gunn film. Here’s why the divisive discussion around the Superman suit is a good sign.

The Changes in James Gunn’s Superman Suit

Right from first glance, the Superman suit appearing in Gunn’s film, worn by David Corenswet, is considerably brighter in hue and color than the version worn by Henry Cavill in the DC Extended Universe. The suit has distinct lines across the blue sections of the suit, more visibly resembles cloth rather than the textured suit Cavill wore, puts the iconic Superman emblem on the cape, and has a pronounced collar partially covering Corenswet’s neck.

The most striking thing about Corenswet’s Superman suit is that it brings back the red trunks rather than having the all-blue lower body look. Like the rest of the suit, the red trunks are brightly colored, at least in set photos of the suit that have appeared online, rather than using a more muted color palette. These changes, of course, have not been without their fair share of spirited discussion online, dividing fans on whether the new suit is an improvement over the DCEU’s Superman costume.

Why James Gunn’s Superman Suit Is Divisive

The addition of the red trunks, in particular, in Gunn’s cinematic vision for Superman is what has proven most divisive among the fans about the costume so far. One of the major reasons behind this is that the DCEU Superman lacked the red trunks during Cavill’s entire run as the superhero, from 2013’s Man of Steel to 2022’s Black Adam. This is at least predated by the New 52 iteration of Superman, who similarly lacked the red trunks and was the contemporary comic book Superman when the DCEU was launched.

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For his part, Man of Steel filmmaker Zack Snyder, who kickstarted the DCEU and introduced its Superman, had his own rationalization for discarding the red trunks in his cinematic vision of the hero. Around the time of the film’s release, Snyder justified not including the trunks as Superman’s suit in the movie was of Kryptonian origin and not made by his adoptive mother, Martha Kent. Another reason Snyder gave was that the red trunks were representative of the contemporary strongman look from the 1930s when Superman was created and would appear anachronistic in a modern movie.

Why James Gunn’s Superman Suit Is Looking Good

Taking all of this into account, there are several reasons why the Superman costume in Gunn’s upcoming movie, including its red trunks, is working. For starters, the comic books have brought back the red trunks since 2016 for its main continuity Superman, and the return to this look on the big screen better aligns with the most widespread iteration in comics currently in publication. On a more visual level, the trunks also better differentiate Corenswet’s Superman from Cavill’s and represent a clean reboot of DC’s cinematic continuity.

Factoring in Snyder’s own insight and inspiration, the more cloth-like Superman suit and red trunks hint that the Kents may play a bigger role in Superman’s life than they did in the DCEU. This could extend to Martha making Superman’s suit, just like she did in many comic book incarnations, and emphasizing the hero’s connection to Earth and humanity. And, of course, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and all the attention that the Superman suit is getting is only going to build anticipation and curiosity surrounding the film and its take on the Man of Steel.

Superman flies into theaters on July 11, 2025.