It's a Bird! It's a Plane! David Corenswet IS Superman!

[Lily Adler]

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He hasn't released it so I said, "Fine. I'll do it myself."

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It's code. Trunks confirmed!

 

[batman44]

Incredible work DF.

 

[Sawyer]

Fake news, but could you imagine?

 

[Captain Tired]

I wouldn't mind it for the sequel tbh

Mullet of Steel

 

[Sawyer]

 

[flickchick85]

Fingers crossed he's contractually obligated to do some promo for this movie.

 

[jetage]

The other night I fell into a Youtube rabbit hole, and watched some videos of what if, both a Chris Reeve Superman 5, and a Nic Cage Superman film. I am not one of those who is lamenting a Cage/Burton Superman film not happening, as I believe it may have been a spectacular mess. But the video did mention how Cage's Clark would have been a complete departure from his Superman. They talked about how it has become normal for the "Dean Cainization" of the character, and how Cain's Clark was basically Superman with glasses and a business suit.

I don't want a recreation of C Reeves Clark Kent(provided by Routh, for example) but I do wonder what David and company will do with Clark. David is basically the world's best looking nerd, so I do wonder if they will encorpate that with him. I think he could bring a certain likable dorkiness to Clark, that so many others have not. I am intrigued to see the first photos of David as Clark, in hopes of getting a clue with how they will portray him.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

The other night I fell into a Youtube rabbit hole, and watched some videos of what if, both a Chris Reeve Superman 5, and a Nic Cage Superman film. I am not one of those who is lamenting a Cage/Burton Superman film not happening, as I believe it may have been a spectacular mess. But the video did mention how Cage's Clark would have been a complete departure from his Superman. They talked about how it has become normal for the "Dean Cainization" of the character, and how Cain's Clark was basically Superman with glasses and a business suit.

I don't want a recreation of C Reeves Clark Kent(provided by Routh, for example) but I do wonder what David and company will do with Clark. David is basically the world's best looking nerd, so I do wonder if they will encorpate that with him. I think he could bring a certain likable dorkiness to Clark, that so many others have not. I am intrigued to see the first photos of David as Clark, in hopes of getting a clue with how they will portray him.

I personally dont agree there's no difference between Clark & Superman in LnC. I think it's obviously much less exaggerated, but the differences are there enough that I swallow the secret identity (as much as any version 😅).

In fact, sometimes I think I'd be way more suspicious if I met a guy who was so obviously putting on a fake persona. I'd be like 'what's that guy hiding'.

To me it makes way more sense to emphasise the Superman persona as extra confident & in some ways mysterious, so that people don't even consider he could be a regular guy - and then just have Clark be a regular guy.

That said, I also personally love it when that regular guy version of Clark is naturally dorky. Cain's Clark was dorky in his own way, but I'd prefer something S&L/MAWS adjacent for sure.

Just... not as a faked persona. As a real part of who he is.

And yeah, David has the potential for that in spades. If this Clark doesn't bring that energy it will be such an obvious waste.

 

[flickchick85]

I like to think of it as, we're all slightly different people when we're up in front of a crowd or having to give a speech or presentation or something. Like, we're not the same person we are when we're out drinking with our friends or whatever. We're trying to project confidence and putting on the face that we want people to see. It's essentially a "Public Persona" version of ourselves - still the real us, just...on our best behavior and conscious of all the eyes on us. That's what Superman is to Clark to me. He's himself, but with the knowledge that the world is watching and judging and looking up to him to be an example, so he's naturally more guarded in terms of his inner-self, his dorkier, more vulnerable traits and whatnot. Doesn't share too much of himself. When he's not Superman, he's much more relaxed and free to let his dork flag fly, so to speak (but it still comes out sometimes when he's Supes because he just can't help himself lol).

So yes, I think there should definitely be a dichotomy - and there absolutely was with Cain's Supes for the record - just...not as extreme as "one persona is a total act." They're different sides of the same person, that's all, imo.

EDIT: Also one thing I wanted to add to that - when he's Clark at the Planet, he's also hiding his powers and what he's capable of. So when he's Superman, he's guarded about his personality but more relaxed and free about showing his power, and when he's Clark (at the Planet), he's guarded about his power, but more free with his personality. And I ALSO like the idea that hiding his powers as he navigates the crowded hustle and bustle of Metropolis inherently gives Clark a bit of a "bull in a China shop" quality, so he comes by some of that "clumsiness" naturally. Just showing different sides at different times, is what it comes down to for me.

 

[flickchick85]

One aspect I LOVED about Cain's Clark (and MAWS has dabbled in this too) is that a lot of his perceived "goofiness" came from him being a bad liar and making up dumb excuses whenever he had Superman stuff to handle, giving Lois & Co. the impression that Clark can be a bit of an odd, forgetful flake, who's also a bit square (like one of the excuses was that he had to return an overdue library book lol). Would love to see more adaptations lean into that, honestly.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Absolutely love the bull in a china shop making him clumsy point as well as him being a terrible liar making him appear goofy 😁

And yeah, how you described the public persona thing is exactly how I feel.

 

[elgaz]

It will be interesting for sure to see what approach Gunn takes with the character.

Christopher Reeve is often held up as the gold standard for his portrayal of the duality of Clark/Superman, but I’ve read often that his very clumsy and bumbling Clark could arguably draw more attention to himself than he needs. Though you could also argue that this makes it even harder to believe he could be the perfectly poised and steady-as-a-rock Superman.

So maybe Clark should be less bumbling and wrongfooted, and just keep quietly under the radar?

I guess there’s arguments for both approaches, depending on perspective.

 

[SupermansPal]

My guess is that it will be something MAWS-like, neither as clumsy as Reeve nor as stoic as Cavill.

And I think the humor will be more about Clark being an aw shucks farmboy than him constantly making a fool of himself.

 

[whoknows]

My guess is that there'll be hardly any clark kent reporter persona at all, with all the superheroes and villans being included, he'll be superman for most of the movie.

 

[Captain Tired]

I think that would disappoint a lot of fans, coming off the back of MOS and BvS.

 

[whoknows]

yeah it might, maybe they will be concious of that and write in clark kent reporter aspects, but i just can't see it given the amount of superpeople primed for the movie. unless its a 3hr movie that is.

 

[GreenKToo]

Reeve's clark was great, for the time, but now? Not so much.
Clark was raised on a farm. He grew up doing stuff on the farm, and being from a small town, he would have small town sensibilities and friendliness.

I'm from a very small town also, and I still live in one.
I say yes ma'am/sir and no ma'am/sir.
I speak to total strangers, I hold the door open, or even open the door for people, etc etc.
We are a trusting and friendly lot, and people from a large city don't trust our friendliness. They think we are up to something.

Clark in Metropolis should be a fish out of water.
I suspect people in Metropolis would be as rude as New Yorkers are.
That said, if this Clark has been there for 5 years, he should be acclimated somewhat, but his small-town upbringing would still shine through.

 

[Captain Tired]

I personally dont agree there's no difference between Clark & Superman in LnC. I think it's obviously much less exaggerated, but the differences are there enough that I swallow the secret identity (as much as any version 😅).

In fact, sometimes I think I'd be way more suspicious if I met a guy who was so obviously putting on a fake persona. I'd be like 'what's that guy hiding'.

To me it makes way more sense to emphasise the Superman persona as extra confident & in some ways mysterious, so that people don't even consider he could be a regular guy - and then just have Clark be a regular guy.

That said, I also personally love it when that regular guy version of Clark is naturally dorky. Cain's Clark was dorky in his own way, but I'd prefer something S&L/MAWS adjacent for sure.

Just... not as a faked persona. As a real part of who he is.

And yeah, David has the potential for that in spades. If this Clark doesn't bring that energy it will be such an obvious waste.

Though I would love to have seen a return to the idea of Clark Kent being a disguise, if at least only for variety's sake (and also because I think Nic Cage would have turned in an enjoyably weird and off-the-wall performance as an intentionally OTT Clark Kent), Dean Cain's Clark being called 'Superman with glasses and a business suit' is one of the most monumentally stupid takes I've heard re: Superman. That smacks of someone who's spent five minutes watching a YouTube compliation and written the show off imo. Just because the guy's not saying 'golly!' and 'gee willikers' while bumping into hat stands every five seconds, does not mean his Kent isn't distinct from Superman. As you say, the acting is more understated and naturalistic compared to other differentiations, but it's still totally there.

 

[GreenKToo]

Just my opinion, but I've always seen clark as having three personas, not two.

Clark on the farm with his family. He can be himself, basically superman but without the suit or pressure.

Clark at the DP and out in public.
He has to hide that he's Superman, so he Comes off as really nerdy and really nice.

And of course superman.
He has to be careful as superman. He has to watch what he says and does as not to give the media
( especially Lex ) any ammunition to use against him.
He can't endorse any candidates in politics, or hang out with the really famous.
He has to remain neutral in world affairs.

For me, "clark on the farm" would be the real person.
No pretending, no having to be careful on what he says or does. He can be himself.

 

[NEXUS 6]

I think a decent template for characterizing the Clark Kent/Superman dichotomy might be found in the two personas Hollywood has tried to push for John Krasinski. In the early Office days and when he started doing features, he had the kind of best-looking, real-life everyman vibe. Lot of Jimmy Stewart/Tom Hanks callbacks. After he’d picked up more steam, they tried to transition him into a sort of old Hollywood/action-hero combo (which never quite landed in my opinion) and were pushing roles like Captain America and Jack Ryan.

In other words, I think Corenswet is uniquely situated as the sort of actor an audience could buy as both this guy:
And this guy:

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Just my opinion, but I've always seen clark as having three personas, not two.

Clark on the farm with his family. He can be himself, basically superman but without the suit or pressure.

Clark at the DP and out in public.
He has to hide that he's Superman, so he Comes off as really nerdy and really nice.

And of course superman.
He has to be careful as superman. He has to watch what he says and does as not to give the media
( especially Lex ) any ammunition to use against him.
He can't endorse any candidates in politics, or hang out with the really famous.
He has to remain neutral in world affairs.

For me, "clark on the farm" would be the real person.
No pretending, no having to be careful on what he says or does. He can be himself.

I do agree that Clark 'on the farm' (or basically, Clark around people/in an environment where he doesn't have to hide he's Superman) is as fully himself as he can get.

I just have an aversion to Metropolis Clark being 'put on' in any way. I guess that's partly from a Clois perspective. I'm not a fan of Lois falling for Superman, unless it's framed as a defense mechanism like it is in LnC (She only falls for unattainable guy as its safer/less real) - but the reality is she's falling for Clark but denying it (and therefore much more risky).

I want her to fall in love with the actual person. Not the shiny Superhero that takes her flying. So it's way better when they have chemistry when he's Clark.

And you can't really have Clois chemistry as Clark if he's actively trying to be off putting.

 

[Lily Adler]

I wonder if Superman is part of the League already or are they trying to recruit him. 🤔

 

[whoknows]

I think folk are gonna be disapointed with this film.... i just can't see them fitting in a relationship between Clark and Lois where the attraction is coming from the Clark persona(whatever that may be)....there's enough room for that in a tv show or a comicbook but in this film i guess she'll be falling for superman, or they might have it that they're already in a relationship(with clark) and hit the ground running, as it's superman in year two of his career(at least that's what i recall it being said it was)

I had no probs with Margot Kidder falling for Superman in the first two movies, as it seemed to me that the superman persona was the real person, and she had a full on interaction with him during the interview where he was very charming, it wasn't all about flying with him or whatever, him dazzling her with his superpowers, it was about the way he came across during their interactions.
Now, in MoS i can see that as a complaint, as they never really had any decent amount of time spent together for her to fall for Superman's personality, i had a problem with it in that case.

 

[Gamma Goliath]

Nowhere was it confirmed that he's in year two of his career. Gunn has said he's been established as Superman, so I'd imagine Clark and Lois are already in a relationship.

 

[whoknows]

oh, ok, i thought i read that somewhere, maybe getting mixed up with the Robert Pattinson Batman time frame .
if they are already in a relationship that might hurt the movie, as seeing lois lane and superman coming together from scratch in the donnerverse was very satisfying to watch i thought.