James Gunn’s Superman Is Breaking Away From HBO And Landing On Another Streaming Service
Posted by Jonathan Klotz | Published
Now that Supergirl is out in theaters the best time to sit back and rewatch last year’s rebirth of the DC Universe, Superman. Directed and written by James Gunn, the bright, colorful film was a stark contrast to Zach Snyder’s. The Man of Steel more than a decade earlier. Now that it’s free on HBO Max and available to stream on Amazon Prime, more people will have a chance to hear Gunn’s vision for the DC Universe.
Superman Stops DC Reincarnation
Superman packs a lot into its 129-minute runtime, including introducing fans to the crew of the Daily Planet, the Justice Gang, LuthorCorp, the Fortress of Solitude, and for the first time in live action, Krypto the Superdog. It’s a lot of work to (re)invent a cinematic universe in one film, but Gunn pulls it off. A calm, extremely dignified Superman (Daivd Corenswet) pitted against the flamboyant Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is the dynamic we needed to see between the two arch-enemies.
It’s the supporting cast surrounding Superman that steals the show. Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner is the annoying co-worker you want to punch but you can’t deny he’s doing the job, while Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl is a bit of a drag and thankfully, there’s no attempt to explain her backstory. Edi Gathegi, as Mr. Terrific, finally getting his second chance as a superhero after that X-Men: First Class Darwin was killed in a dumb way, he became the star of the movie.
DC Gets A Win Over Marvel
Superman it may have failed to reach a billion dollars at the box office but it manages to top all of Marvel’s releases in 2025: Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderagain Fantastic Four: First Steps. With $600 million worldwide, it was good for 10th place in 2025, which isn’t bad, but for superhero movies, it feels like if it doesn’t break a billion, it’s considered a failure. It was taken out of the box office game and taken on its own as it entered a new broadcast environment making it easy to understand Gunn’s vision for what it is, not what fans expected.
No one could have predicted that Corenswet would easily step into the shoes of the legendary Christopher Reeve, or that his chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane would be electric. The problem now, is that with the next film, Supergirlcurrently showing in theaters is what awaits Gunn’s DC Universe. Early reviews of the adventures of Superman’s cousin, played by Milly Alcock, have not been good so far, but Warner Bros. is invested in Gunn and is not only looking at box office numbers, but also sales, as well, as For Superman The move to Amazon makes it clear, licensing.
Bird! Airplane! Amazon Prime!
A bright, colorful, optimistic Superman is reflected in the superhero’s current landscape which has become increasingly bleak as the years go by and the original audience for the hit films moves on to other things. There you sit and have a fire Superman on Amazon Prime don’t worry about the future of superhero movies, James Gunn’s future plans, or anything else for that matter. Relax and enjoy Corenswet, Brosnahan, and Hoult as the closest we’ve come to Reeve, Kidder, and Hackman since the 70s. Superman is a timeless character, and a year after his release, Superman it will begin to age like fine wine.
