"There Is Absolutely Zero CG In His Face": James Gunn Addresses Complaints About David Corenswet's Man Of Steel Flying Scene In The New Superman Movie Trailer

By Andy Behbakht

Published Jan 27, 2025

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DC Studios co-CEO and Gunn's Superman movie will finally be arriving in theaters. Now that the Superman marketing is underway, DC is revealing new glimpses of the highly-anticipated summer blockbuster.

Following the release of the new Superman trailer for David Corenswet's superhero film, many fans on social media began commenting on one particular shot. Toward the end, there's a close-up when Corenswet's Superman is flying, and a lot of people began speculating that CGI had been used on the DCU star's face. However, it didn't take long for Gunn to address those concerns, as he stated the following:

James Gunn Clears Up Superman CGI Movie Trailer Confusion

Gunn stressed that "there is absolutely zero CG in his face. People’s faces can look different when you put a wide angle lens up close." The filmmaker also added that the shot seen in the new Superman trailer was practical, sharing that "the background plate in Svalbard is 100% real as is David [Corenswet]."

What James Gunn's Superman Trailer CGI Comments Mean

From Gunn's explanation, even if it may look odd to some, action sequences like Clark Kent flying at top speed in what is presumably the North Pole can look strange depending on how an actor is framed and shot. In this case, for Superman, when it came down to "a wide-angle lens up close," that may simply be just for this scene alone, with other moments of Clark flying perhaps looking very different. Even in Superman set photos, things can look one way from a certain perspective, which can often lead to premature judgment.

While it's good that Gunn clarified what was going on with that particular shot in the Superman footage, it's crucial to that DC movie fans have had to deal with situations like these in the past. In 2017, when Joss Whedon took over Zack Snyder's Justice League production, it led to the infamous CGI removal of Henry Cavill's mustache that was part of his Mission: Impossible – Fallout character, which he wasn't allowed to shave off for the reshoots. That was why Cavill's Superman looked extremely odd in many of the scenes that were part of the theatrical Justice League cut.

Our Take On James Gunn's Superman Trailer CGI Comments

Superman and Krypto sitting on the moon, looking at Earth in Superman (2025) — Image via Warner Bros.

While things can and will likely look different when Superman has finished post-production, it's good to know that Corenswet's flying scene in the trailer is largely practical, especially since there have been a lot of superhero movies in recent years with questionable CGI decisions. Since there are bound to be more Superman movie trailers and TV spots released in the coming months, there is still a lot that has yet to be seen from this film. Hopefully, whatever is shown next from Superman will ideally not cause this much confusion, especially about what is or isn't CGI in the movie.