It was back in 2006 when audiences were introduced to Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel in Superman Returns, and despite the movie doing poorly critically, Routh has been recently embraced as his own version of Superman by audiences, even coming back to reprise the role for The CW.
With a new Superman making his big screen debut with David Corenswet, Routh was asked what kind of advice he would give to Corenswet, one Superman to another.
Ex-Superman Actor Brandon Routh Offers Advice to New Man of Steel
Appearing at the ACE Superhero Comic Con 2024, Routh said:
“I think the biggest thing for me about Superman is always recognizing the non-physical superpowers that he has. It can be cheesy to relate it to the ‘teach a man to fish’ story, but quite literally that is how I see it, and it’s very apropos to being the thing. If you save people all the time, everywhere, maybe they never learn how to save themselves. That doesn’t mean that you don’t save them, but it just means that the teaching, the personality, the aspect, the human communication, the understanding Superman can give us of inclusion.”
With Henry Cavill’s Superman being criticized for being pretty stoic or just downright miserable, new Superman director James Gunn has said that he wants to focus on delivering a more positive and uplifting version of the Man of Steel. That being said, Routh continues:
“To me Superman is pure love, he doesn’t judge… He has to make some hard choices and stop people from doing bad things, but my goal for Superman is that he’s the guy that everyone can be in their person…maybe without all the flying and all the other stuff. But he’s an example, the best of humanity, and he could teach us to do it, not just by his actions, but by calling out the truth.”
Though Gunn has been very clear about how he wants to approach his new Superman, fans have barely gotten a look at Corenswet’s characterization of the Last Son of Krypton. At best, Gunn has revealed that he would be drawing a lot of inspiration from 2005’s All-Star Superman storyline. Fans have yet to get an idea of how Corenswet’s Superman walks or talks, and it’s unclear when DC is going to be ready to give audiences their first tease for the character.
It is worth noting that Superman is going to feature multiple heroes that will be established by the time Superman reveals himself to the public. Characters like Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, Metamorpho, and Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern are expected to show up in some form. It’s unclear if Gunn is ready to introduce some more big-name heroes like Batman and Wonder Woman though.
As of now, the only DC project left releasing this year is Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie a Deux, which isn’t even in Gunn’s shared DCU. With production currently ongoing and a release set for later next year, it’s possible that fans would have to wait until 2025 to get a first look at the new Superman, but it’s also possible that DC could be gearing up for a small tease around the time that Joker 2 comes out in theaters.
DC FanDome may have been canceled back in 2022, but there’s still plenty of time for DC to make some huge reveals for later this year. Besides Superhero Comic Con that took place this month, fans also have the San Diego Comic-Con to look forward to in July.
Catch Superman when it soars into theaters on July 11, 2025.