James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Draws Inspiration From These 3 Japanese Classics

Director James Gunn isn’t just rebooting Superman for the DCU, he’s Frankensteining it with love, using parts of his childhood, bits of rubber suit mayhem, kaiju-sized destruction, and a very specific brand of Japanese chaos. If the trailers for Superman, which tease the film’s theatrical release on July 11, 2025, have you wondering why a flying dog (Krypto) is part of the big action sequences and why David Corenswet’s Man of Steel is battling a goofy Godzilla-sized creature that’s trampling Metropolis, the answer is simple: tokusatsu.