"Superman" — Read, Study, & Download The Screenplay by James Gunn
Superman Isn’t About Power. He’s About Restraint.
James Gunn’s "Superman" isn’t trying to reinvent the character -- it’s trying to redefine what he’s for. This version strips away cynicism, irony, and operatic gloom in favor of something far more difficult: sincerity. Gunn frames "Superman" not as a god among men, but as a moral presence navigating a world that no longer trusts moral certainty.
This is not a movie about saving the planet.
It’s about choosing how to live on it.
The screenplay positions Clark Kent as a character first and a symbol second, using his alien origin to ask deeply human questions about belonging, responsibility, and what it means to be good when goodness isn’t rewarded.
"Superman" — Educator Resources & Study Guide
Writing Sincerity in a Cynical Age
James Gunn’s "Superman" script is a case study in writing earnestness without sentimentality. The screenplay demonstrates how to build mythic stakes around character psychology, how to stage political allegory without sermonizing, and how to write a hero whose greatest power is moral clarity rather than spectacle.
For screenwriters, this script offers concrete lessons in tone control, character-forward blockbusters, re-centering myth in modern cinema, and using genre as philosophical framework rather than formula.
→ Download the full Educator Breakdown (PDF) for tone analysis, takeaways, classroom prompts, and a Critical Lens module. To read, study, and download the complete "Superman" screenplay by James Gunn, continue scrolling until you see the button.
Superman (2025) — Classroom Study
James Gunn’s "Superman" is not a reboot. It’s a moral recalibration. This screenplay asks a question most superhero films avoid: not “what can he do?” but “what should he do?” In a media environment saturated with cynical antiheroes and deconstructed icons, Gunn makes a radical choice -- he writes Superman as sincerely good. Not naïve. Not stupid. Not bland. But intentionally moral. This script teaches how to write sincerity without corniness, myth without pomposity, and political allegory without lectures. It treats Superman not as a power fantasy, but as an ethical one -- a being capable of anything who chooses restraint, empathy, and responsibility.
For writers, this is a masterclass in tone discipline, character-first spectacle, and how to restore emotional meaning to IP storytelling.
- What does sincerity look like in modern cinema?
- Can optimism be radical?
- How does allegory function without speeches?
- Superman as immigrant metaphor
- Power vs responsibility
- Why cynicism became dominant in pop storytelling
- Can a hero be morally clear without being simplistic?
- IP as myth, not product
"Superman" One Sheet & Script Intel
Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned. Warner Bros.
| Type | ... |
FYC
|
| Version | ... | GENESISFYC |
| Date | ... | 10.24.2025 |
| Pages | ... | 138 |
| Genres | ... | Action Adventure Sci-Fi |
| Screenplay | ... | James Gunn |
| IMDb ID | ... | 5950044 |
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