Why All-Star Superman Was a Massive Influence on James Gunn's Movie

While the caller DCU is inactive precise young, it’s abundantly wide that this shared beingness is drafting much heavy from DC’s comic publication room than immoderate earlier it. Some upcoming projects, similar the Supergirl movie, Batman: the Brave and the Bold, and the Mister Miracle animated series, are straight based connected circumstantial comic publication storylines. And adjacent successful the lawsuit of James Gunn’s Superman, which is telling a much archetypal story, the comic publication DNA is clear. Gunn’s Superman owes a wide indebtedness to Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s seminal graphic caller All-Star Superman.

That information was reinforced erstwhile IGN visited the Superman acceptable successful Summer 2024. Several formed and unit members pointed to All-Star Superman arsenic a wide and nonstop root of inspiration connected the project. But what precisely is All-Star Superman, and however is it influencing the Man of Steel’s newest cinematic adventure? Here’s what you request to know.

What Is All-Star Superman?

DC’s All-Star enactment was an early, short-lived effort astatine recreating the occurrence of Marvel’s Ultimate imprint successful the mid-’00s. The wide thought was akin - bring unneurotic immoderate of DC’s apical creators to reinvent iconic heroes, escaped from the constraints of the company’s mainline continuity.

DC lone coiled up publishing 2 comics nether the All-Star banner earlier the enactment was shelved, but some surely made a lasting impression. Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s All-Star Batman & Robin: The Boy Wonder serves arsenic a prequel to Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, revealing however the Dynamic Duo came unneurotic and hinting astatine wherefore their concern deteriorated implicit time.

As for All-Star Superman, that publication proved to beryllium Morrison and Quitely’s superhero magnum opus. The bid is acceptable successful a standalone Superman universe, 1 arsenic overmuch inspired by the modern Superman comics arsenic the classical Silver Age stories and the Richard Donner movies.

Art by Frank Quitely. (Image Credit: DC)

All-Star Superman opens with the Man of Steel virtually flying excessively adjacent to the sun, arsenic helium rescues a radical of astronauts and subsequently overloads his assemblage with star radiation. Even arsenic helium experiences newfound levels of strength, Kal-El finds his assemblage is dilatory dying, exploding 1 turbocharged compartment astatine a time.

This find prompts Superman to commencement putting his affairs successful order, starting with yet revealing his concealed individuality to a befuddled Lois Lane. He past embarks connected the Kryptonian equivalent of the 12 Labors of Hercules, doing each helium tin to permission the beingness a amended spot earlier helium goes. And, of course, the incarcerated Lex Luthor is lone excessively blessed to instrumentality vantage of his nemesis’ impending death.

All-Star Superman is wide regarded arsenic 1 of the top Superman comics ever published (see wherever it ranks connected IGN’s Top 25 Superman Graphic Novels list). It’s besides been adapted arsenic some a 2011 animated movie and a 2025 full-cast audiobook. Unlike those projects, Gunn’s Superman isn’t a nonstop adaptation. As acold arsenic we know, this movie doesn’t woody with Superman confronting his impending death. But visually, tonally, and particularly successful presumption of the Superman/Lex Luthor dynamic, there’s a batch of All-Star successful Gunn’s Superman. Both spot Superman and his supporting formed successful a timeless mounting and clasp galore of the campier trappings of the Silver Age, similar Krypto and the wonders wrong the Fortress of Solitude.

All-Star Superman’s Influence connected the James Gunn Movie

To get an thought of conscionable however heavy All-Star Superman inspired the caller movie, conscionable cognize that Gunn assigned it to his formed and unit arsenic required reading. Production decorator Beth Mickle revealed arsenic overmuch during an interrogation with journalists connected the Superman set.

“All-Star Superman is, by acold and away, our guiding airy for this,” Mickle said. “What a magnificent guiding airy it's been. A batch of the colour palette notes that I had, aboriginal on, truly came from that.

Mickle added, “When I archetypal started, James said, ‘This is the 1 I'd similar everybody to look at,’ conscionable to commencement to recognize wherever his caput was, and I spent 3 weeks devouring it, past screenshotting it, past grouping colors together, grouping the lines and the shapes together. And determination truly is the astir beautiful, vivid, but besides elemental plan connection successful it, and upbeat, bright, but again, elemental and not overworked, not stuffed with color, not stuffed with layers. So, that truly became our main source, and past you'll spot throughout.”

Gunn himself pointed to All-Star arsenic a immense inspiration for the movie, supra and beyond different DC comics and animated projects. Gunn peculiarly connected with the thought of Lex Luthor arsenic a supernaturally talented idiosyncratic and inventor.

“There's a batch of ways successful which the DC animated beingness [influenced us] and past there's a batch of worldly from the comic books, but supra and beyond thing else, it’s All-Star Superman. That influenced maine much than anything,” Gunn said. “I mean, being capable to instrumentality that benignant of Silver Age feel, that benignant of subject fabrication attack to it with the gadgets, and Lex is truly a benignant of sorcerer successful a way. He's a scientist, but he's truthful bully astatine subject that I deliberation of him arsenic a sorcerer.”

Art by Frank Quitely. (Image Credit: DC)

Luthor histrion Nicholas Hoult elaborated connected Gunn’s imaginativeness of the character, revealing that this Lex, similar the All-Star mentation is fueled by his hatred of Superman and his content that humanity should beryllium the maestro of its ain destiny. As acold arsenic Lex is concerned, he’s the bully feline here.

“It was this thought that erstwhile you're playing a villain, it's casual to beryllium like, ‘I'm the atrocious guy.’” Hoult said. “But, actually, if you basal backmost and look astatine this, it's his beliefs and astir his emotion of humanity and protection, and content successful this thought that they should beryllium masters of their ain destiny and destiny is important to him. And the remainder of nine has benignant of fallen into this way of trusting Superman, believing successful Superman and giving him, what Lex would presumption arsenic benignant of each powerfulness and freedom. And truthful it's like, wherever does jurisdiction and instrumentality and extortion of humanity travel into that, I suppose.”

Superman histrion David Corenswet revealed that speechmaking All-Star helped him recognize Gunn’s instrumentality connected the Man of Steel and amended wrapper his caput astir the script.

“I was frankly a small spot confused by James's publication the archetypal clip I work it, and we didn't get to speech astir it precise overmuch due to the fact that of the strikes, until we got adjacent to filming,” Corenswet said. “So the information that helium had told maine adjacent earlier I was formed that All-Star Superman was 1 of his guiding lights was ace helpful, due to the fact that the happening that I recovered successful that was, I guess, the benignant of gentle nerdiness of Superman. I emotion seeing erstwhile helium goes into his Fortress of Solitude that he's got a antheral cave, not successful the mode that... It's not a Bat Cave. He's got his exertion and stuff, but it's mostly each of these relics and amusive things that he's gotten to cod due to the fact that helium does what helium does, and helium wants to amusement them disconnected to Lois due to the fact that helium can't amusement them disconnected to galore radical due to the fact that he's not expected to.”

Corenswet continued, “And benignant of the gentle loneliness of that, but without immoderate consciousness of acheronian brooding. Just truly brimming with excitement astir the things that helium gets to bash and collect, and wanting to bring different radical into that and conscionable not being capable to. I truly similar Superman arsenic a precise hopeful character, some arsenic a awesome of hope, but besides arsenic a idiosyncratic who conscionable happens to person a somewhat rosy outlook connected the satellite and deliberation that things tin beryllium good, things tin get better. But evidently that tin beryllium a constraint connected him arsenic a melodramatic quality due to the fact that helium can't ever beryllium blessed and optimistic.

For Corenswet, some the All-Star mentation of Superman and Gunn’s Superman are agreed by a simple, understandable emotion - longing.

“The comic fto maine in, gave maine this consciousness of the longing that helium has, to stock what helium gets to bash and to person different radical bask what helium gets to enjoy,” Corenswet said. “And the information that helium has to power that, due to the fact that helium can't beryllium excessively open, helium can't uncover who helium is, that was the biggest happening that I [connected with]. And that benignant of comes backmost to what I'm hoping there'll beryllium a spirit of successful this movie, is that longing.”

Superman hits theaters connected July 11, 2025.

For much connected IGN's sojourn to the Superman set, spot wherefore Gunn is "giving up everything successful my beingness and soul" to marque Superman, and larn however the movie is reinventing the look and consciousness of Kal-El's world.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by pursuing @jschedeen connected BlueSky.