James Gunn Addresses That Controversial Superman Flying Shot

A new look at James Gunn’s Superman has the internet in a tizzy. This weekend, Warner Bros. released a new TV spot for the film during the NFL games and while it’s mostly footage from the teaser trailer, there are a few new shots, including one of Superman flying across a snowy plain. The camera looks like it’s flying with him and, well, it looks a little weird. So weird in fact that Gunn himself had to jump on social media to stop the rising wave of assumption and misinformation.

You can see the shot in action in the video below (and the still frame above). Basically, at the end of the shot, actor David Corenswet’s eyes look a little crossed, which led many to assume the shot was created with bad CGI. That then became a pile-on from people (a good portion of whom are die-hard Zack Snyder fans) dismissing an entire movie due to a few frames. But, it turns out, CGI had nothing to do with that specific look. Here’s the clip.

Yes, his eyes do look a little off but Gunn took to Threads to say the following: “There is absolutely zero CG in his face. People’s faces can look different when you put a wide angle lens up close. The background plate in Svalbard is 100% real as is David.” The key phrase there is “in his face.” Clearly, there is CGI in the shot, both with the combination and integration of the images, probably the movement of the cape, and maybe more. But we’re talking specifically about the face here and Gunn says that’s real.

Speaking to press on set last year, Gunn revealed he and his team were inspired by films like Top Gun: Maverick for the flying scenes. Something that’s pretty clearly seen here. And, if you rewatch footage from that movie, there is a similar effect. Tom Cruise and the other pilots don’t look perfectly normal as they fly through the sky at superhuman speeds and they have glass as well as a helmet to protect them. Their faces are shoved back awkwardly by gravity. If Corenswet was on a set with camera in his face, and being blown with wind or moved around to simulate the speed, yeah, his face is going to distort. Maybe his eyes might even go a little wonky. In fact, if anything, CGI could be used to fix that look.

And so, to recap, new Superman footage was released, some people got up in arms over one shot, the filmmaker explained his technique, and we all take a deep breath realizing it’s going to be like this every day until Superman opens on July 11.

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