Superman’s upcoming cinematic adventure has a lot to pack in. With multiple trailers already released and excitement building, fans have been curious about how the film will manage its growing ensemble cast. As the first major installment in James Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe, *Superman* centers on three core characters—Clark Kent/Superman, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor—but also features a wide array of additional heroes and villains set to make their mark in this high-stakes summer blockbuster.
The film unfolds in a world where superheroes and supervillains are already well-established. By the time we meet Clark Kent, he's been operating as Superman for several years. This means there’s no need to rehash the origins of characters like Mister Terrific, Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, or Metamorpho—they’re simply part of the world.
This raises an interesting question: Does director and writer James Gunn worry that diving headfirst into a fully realized superhero universe might confuse audiences?
In a recent interview with Esquire Philippines, Gunn addressed these concerns directly. He explained that early test screenings showed no signs of confusion among viewers.
"No, not really, because I've screened the movie for so many people and saw that people aren't confused. So I know from fact that it's not confusing."
Gunn further clarified that while the cast list is expansive, the structure of the story is familiar. At its heart, *Superman* follows a protagonist surrounded by two main groups of friends: those he works with and those he spends his personal time with. Whether someone like Hawkgirl or Jimmy Olsen fits into one group or the other isn’t the point—it’s about seeing them as naturally as you would any supporting character in a modern film.
"We're used to seeing movies with protagonists and Superman is definitely the protagonist of *Superman*, and he has his work friends and he has his play friends. Now, I don't know if the Justice Gang are his play friends, or his work friends at the Daily Planet are his work friends or his play friends, but that's the two groups of his friends from different places. And just because they have insignias on their costumes or superpowers doesn't mean they're not like any other supporting character in any movie."
A Comparison to Oppenheimer
To put things into perspective, Gunn even compared *Superman*'s character count to Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed biopic Oppenheimer, which won multiple Academy Awards.
"I think Oppenheimer has three times as many speaking roles as we do," he said. "So I think people are fine."
Runtime Details
With a runtime of 2 hours and 9 minutes—including credits and post-credits scenes—*Superman* keeps things concise. For comparison, this is 15 minutes shorter than Henry Cavill’s 2013 origin film *Man of Steel*. The streamlined approach ensures a focused narrative while still introducing key elements of Gunn’s new DC Universe.
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All Confirmed Characters in Superman
- Superman
- Lois Lane
- Lex Luthor
- Mister Terrific
- Guy Gardner
- Hawkgirl
- Metamorpho
- Baby Joey
- The Engineer
- The Hammer of Boravia
- Ultraman
- Rick Flag Sr.
- Supergirl
- Maxwell Lord
- Kryptonian robots, including Kelex
- Krypto
- Jonathan Kent
- Martha Kent
- Perry White
- Jimmy Olsen
- Steve Lombard
- Cat Grant
- Ron Troupe
- Eve Teschmacher
- Otis
