How James Gunn’s Superman echoes Tim Burton’s Batman

It’s one thing to have power and weight in popular culture as a person, but it’s quite another when a fictional character and/or intellectual property has such power. Where individuals can easily wear out their welcome, characters and properties have the potential to be evergreen, provided the creators and artists behind them treat them well. It’s usually not a good idea to assume that possessions exist everywhere; Although almost every musician and TV show has a dedicated, even vocal, fanbase these days, the Internet has allowed such niche groups to flourish while the public at large may never have heard about the stuff those fans are raving about. However, there are a select few media figures who are so famous that they need little or no introduction. The DC Comics superheroes Superman and Batman are two of those characters. Sure, many people these days are familiar with B-list characters like Iron Man, Black Widow, and Captain Marvel, but Superman and Batman were well known before the comic book movie boom began.

The trailer for the latest cinematic version of the adventures of Kal-El, also known as Clark Kent, “Superman,” was released online today. It’s a great summation of the style and creative goals that writer/director James Gunn had not only for the film himself, but for the entire DC studios. In addition to the radical optimism shown by the trailer, along with all the character glimpses and other moments in the clip, there’s an aspect of the teaser that may be the most surprising of all: the trailer doesn’t have a title card. The trailer ends with the DC Studios logo and release date, and the trailer never shows the name of the film. This choice is less a gamble and more a brazen idea, one that not only exudes confidence in the film, but recalls a similar gambit undertaken by Tim Burton and company in 1989, As seen in the first teaser for “Batman.”

Unlike the typical Hollywood marketing machine assembly line, Gunn made sure to work closely with editors to create the “Superman” trailer. At the launch event and Q&A held at Warner Bros. Arena, which I attended on Monday, Gunn made sure to give credit to assistant editor Ben Stringfellow as he cut a teaser that Gunn “will show to all the visitors who come to the set.” During the filming of the film, this clip served as the director’s “true north” to work on the now-released trailer. When it came to leaving the title card at the end, Gunn’s response was more nonchalant when asked about the choice:

“I don’t know. It felt good. That was the other thing. We had these trailers coming in and they did all this testing, et cetera. I believe in testing, I believe in the testing process. And we tested, and we actually tested but it’s like you have to To go with your gut and what you feel is right, and I had some people around me, including Peter Safran, who I could trust, and my courage, who also seemed to have the narrowest courage, meaning I’m the person who likes the least amount of things when “It comes together, so it seems like it worked.”

Certainly, leaving out a title card for a long-awaited film from a famous director based on a character who has appeared in dozens of films, TV shows, animated series, and other media for nearly a century doesn’t seem exactly brave on paper. However, in the current movie marketing landscape, this seems like a rather bold choice, if for no other reason than that it helps the teaser (and thus the movie) stand out from the crowd.

What may have been a “good feeling” for Gunn when it came to leaving the title card out of the “Superman” teaser could relate to how the trailer doubles as a proof of concept for both the film itself and DC Studios’ future as a film of all kinds. In other words, a teaser is not just a regular teaser for a new movie, but also an artistic and aesthetic mission statement. This kind of thing has happened before for reasons of duress, as with Burton’s “Batman” teaser. This production had to deal with it Pre-release controversy surrounding the casting of Michael Keaton as the Dark Knightand it took rushing a trailer to theaters (while the movie was still filming) to help allay fears that the “Beetlejuice” director and star weren’t making another “Batman” TV series-style comedy.

However, one doesn’t need to go to Gotham City to know what may have influenced Gunn in the “Superman” teaser, because the trailer and marketing campaign for Richard Donner’s 1978 “Superman” film takes a very similar approach to acknowledging the Man of Steel’s character. Importance while building anticipation for his appearance in all his glory. Posters for the film often featured the “S” shield logo, with the tagline “You’ll Believe a Man Can Fly”, promising the wonder that audiences would experience with the film. The teaser trailer is almost built around the hype – There is no footage from the film, and it is centered around the film’s amazingly stacked cast list. He almost abandons the title card in favor of the “S” shield, but the name “Superman” appears briefly. Despite this, there’s no doubt that Gunn wanted to pay homage to Donner’s film with his teaser, even with composer John Murphy. Use some of John Williams’ famous headline themes (Plus the teaser dropped just four days after the 1978 film’s 46th anniversary.)

Although the teaser for “Superman” 2025 certainly pays homage to “Superman” 1978, the net effect of the teaser trailer is much closer to the teaser for “Batman” 1989. Both teasers have a great sense of anticipation and excitement; “Batman” showcases the film’s evocative aesthetics, while “Superman” promises a mix of nostalgia and exciting newness in its approach to the character. Even the trailers’ taglines have a preemptive abbreviation to them: “Coming this summer” and “This summer, it starts.”

The lack of a title card in both teasers only heightens this feeling of anticipation. It makes the trailer look a bit incomplete, leaving us yearning for more. It’s an effective technique, and when it comes to the trailer, as Gunn alluded to, it seems fitting. In the past year, we’ve seen an impressive rise in movie trailers (particularly trailers) that are relearning the art of suspense, rather than forcefully (or desperately) throwing too much material into the audience’s arms too soon. Hopefully “It Begins” has another meaning behind it: the return of a proper, old-school trailer.

“Superman” will be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.