The movie hasn’t even been out yet, and David Corenswet is already confronting Superman criticism. That’s not all, as he intentionally refrains from saying “The American Way.”
Recall how merchandise for Gunn’s new Man of Steel movie drops “The American Way” for “the human way.” We can guess Corenswet was likely coached by Gunn and the movie’s PR team to avoid stating “The American Way” in interviews. Rumors offer Gunn has injected his politics into the movie, something fans hope doesn’t bring down the entire film.
Regarding the criticism, Corenswet addresses how Clark acted in the footage where he seems to be yelling at Lois, which fans have pointed out seems out of character. There are other scenes, too, which feature Corenswet acting more like a 2-year-old throwing a temper tantrum than a mild-mannered super man.
Corenswet Says Superman Has a “Third Identity” Only Lois and Ma Kent Truly Know
Corenswet recently spoke with CBS Sunday Morning and explained that they look at Superman as a third character, not Superman or Clark Kent, but a mix of both, and only that Ma and Pa Kent and Lois know that third character, the real version of him.
“We haven’t figured out what to call him yet, whether it’s Kal or Clark, but rather than thinking about one—either Superman or Clark Kent—as the real one and the other as the alter ego (which you can go back and forth on), there’s a third, truer version of him, which is the version of him when he’s with somebody who knows that he’s both,” said Corenswet.
Corenswet continued, “So in our version, that’s Ma Kent, who knows that he’s Superman and knows that he’s Clark and grew up with him. You know, he grew up with them, and Lois Lane, who knows that he’s both of these characters, and she interacts with him as a journalist—as Superman—and she interacts with him as a colleague—as Clark Kent. And so she sees these characters, and she’s one of the only people who gets to see him when he’s not playing either character, and he’s a little bit of both.”
“Truth and justice and all those good things”
Corenswet added that a key scene with Lois reflects this balance between identities, showing Superman in a more vulnerable, human way.
“And so that scene, I think, is the crux of that character that we see. And the reality is that when he doesn’t have to be Superman, when he doesn’t have to be this calm, reassuring presence to the public, when he doesn’t have to symbolize safety and security and truth and justice and all those good things, he still feels those values,” explained Corenswet. “But just like when a firefighter comes home, or a paramedic comes home, they might get frustrated, or they might panic about something—where in the course of doing their job, they would never let themselves panic or yell or raise their voice or convey that kind of instability or uncertainty,” he said.
Corenswet added, “With Lois alone—even though they are technically recording (that’s part of the scene, that he keeps kind of forgetting that he’s on the record)—at this point it becomes just between him and Lois. You’re able to see not his anger at Lois, but his frustration with the perspective that she’s representing, and his passion about how certain he is that he’s doing the right thing.”
Release info
James Gunn’s Superman flies into theaters on July 11th.
The film stars David Corenswet as Superman and Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. The supporting cast includes Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell.
