James Gunn Debunks Controversial Superman Rumor (But What’s the Truth?)

Superman director James Gunn has debunked recent rumors concerning the film’s run time. On the social media platform Threads, a fan asked the filmmaker about headlines claiming Superman is 122 minutes long (2 hours, 2 minutes). Gunn cleared things up by confirming that is not the movie’s official running time. According to him, there are still a handful of VFX shots to finish before the final picture is locked and ready to go. The plan is for that work to be completed this coming weekend, meaning Superman will be ready to hit the big screen in the near future.

“That is not correct,” Gunn said when asked about the Superman run time. “It’s almost totally locked – meaning we’re just finishing a couple VFX shots over the weekend – but that’s not the running time.”

Speculation about Superman‘s run time started to spread earlier this week when it was claimed that international distributors had learned the information ahead of tickets going on sale soon. The reported run time was noteworthy because it would have made Gunn’s reboot the shortest Superman film in nearly 40 years. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is only 90 minutes long.

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As the first theatrical release in the DC Universe franchise, Warner Bros. has been busy giving Superman a major marketing push. The studio recently unveiled a new official trailer that established some of the film’s themes and teased some hard-hitting action sequences. Looking to build off spring box office hits such as A Minecraft Movie and Sinners, WB is very excited for Superman, which is arguably the studio’s most important release this year.

The rumored Superman run time raised some eyebrows considering all that’s on the film’s plate. Serving as the introduction to the DC Universe for most of the moviegoing audience (save for the people who watched Creature Commandos on Max), Superman will laying a lot of foundation for the shared universe moving forward. The titular Kryptonian is just one superhero appearing in the film, and some of those other characters are set to return in future DC Universe projects (see: the Peacemaker Season 2 trailer). A lot can be accomplished in two hours (which is how long it took Gunn to make viewers fall in love with the Guardians of the Galaxy), but an argument can be made Superman needs a little more breathing room in order to properly establish all of its key elements. It’ll be interesting to see what the final run time actually is.

It would be surprising if Superman is shorter than what the rumors indicated. Even though Gunn is eschewing the classic Superman origin story and just jumping right into the action, the film still has to acclimate viewers to a whole new universe and different iterations of famous characters. Running under two hours would run the risk of short changing things, though a protracted run time presents its own hurdles. Ultimately, what it boils down to is how well Superman is paced and constructed on a storytelling level. Gunn has knocked multiple comic book adaptations out of the park in his career, so Superman will hopefully be a continuation of that trend.