Superman: James Gunn on his approach to VFX and the lengthy post-production process

Superman wrapped production last month, but the film’s release is still nearly a year away. This will give Superman director James Gunn enough time to perfect the VFX during the post-production process, and it’s all by design.

On Threads, a fan brought up the plight of overworked VFX artists who are forced to work very tight deadlines in order to get a film out on time. Now that James Gunn is running DC Studios, things will be different, with Superman getting a lengthy post-production schedule.

“If you do some research you’ll see my films have always taken a different approach and I’ve always given my VFX artist-collaborators time to do their jobs properly, and the respect they deserve,” Gunn wrote. “And the quality of the VFX in those films is uniformly great because of it (and because my friends at Weta and Framestore and ILM and more are amazingly talented).“

Gunn continued, “This is why we wrapped on Superman a year before release and why they’ve been hard at work on many shots for months before that. This is why we start heartily editing during the shoot. It’s why I prepare so vigorously and why we only shoot finished screenplays. And Supergirl, which I’m not directing, is being handled the same way. I can’t praise the VFX artists that help us create magic enough.“

Due to the amount of pre-production work Gunn does on his films (including the unorthodox method of shooting with a complete script), he’s always been left with enough time for quality visual effects. “I wouldn’t make a big film like that without the proper amount of post-production time,” Gunn said.

Superman stars David Corenswet (Pearl) as Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Ms. Maisel) as Lois Lane. The cast also includes Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Guy Gardner, a charismatic and slightly obnoxious member of the Green Lantern Corps; Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) as Hawkgirl; Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) as Mister Terrific; Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho; María Gabriela de Faría (Deadly Class) as The Engineer, a member of The Authority; Sara Sampaio (At Midnight) as Eve Teschmacher; Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones) as Jimmy Olsen; Wendell Pierce (The Wire) as Perry White; Neva Howell (Logan Lucky) as Martha Kent; Pruitt Taylor-Vince (The Walking Dead) as Jonathan Kent; and Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Lex Luthor.

The members of the Daily Planet newsroom have also expanded for the movie, with Beck Bennet (Saturday Night Live) set to play Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover (The Suicide Squad) as Cat Grant, and newcomer Christopher McDonald as Ron Troupe.

DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran has previously teased that Superman will not be an origin story and will focus on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.” Superman is slated to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.