Will James Gunn's risky Superman movie pay off?

First film in DC's rebooted universe marks a new direction for the franchise

David Corenswet as Superman.
David Corenswet as the new Man of Steel
(Image credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy)

"Superman is back and has this divided, destructive world ever needed him more?" said Jonathan Dean in The Times. Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel's iconic cape-wearing hero made his first appearance in an early comic book back in the 1930s. Now, James Gunn has directed the first film in the rebooted franchise and a Superman movie has "rarely felt more timely".

'Just a movie'

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Irenie Forshaw is a features writer at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.