Batman Begins, from 2005, marked the beginning of a new era for superhero cinema and the start of a period characterized by realism, a serious tone, and an almost detective-like approach to Batman. But what many might not know is that the director of The Dark Knight trilogy was inspired by another superhero film that formed the foundation of his visual and narrative approach. Specifically, Christopher Nolan drew inspiration from the first “Superman” film, directed by Richard Donner and starring Christopher Reeve in 1978.
This connection doesn’t seem to make much sense, considering these are movies and characters that don’t have much to do with each other, but it also generates even more curiosity to see James Gunn’s “Superman” and what it will bring to DC’s renewed universe.
In an interview given years ago to promote the re-release of Batman: The Dark Knight, Nolan explained that what attracted him to Donner’s Superman wasn’t so much the style or the optimistic tone, but rather the narrative structure. It’s a film focused on the hero’s journey, taking time to build its protagonist from childhood to the character’s iconic suit finally appearing. A film about the character’s origins, emotionally heavy and highly epic.
And it’s interesting that Nolan now cites this reference just as James Gunn’s Superman is about to be released, a film that, rather than telling the origin story, starts in a universe where superheroes already exist. A completely different approach from Donner’s and Nolan’s own, raising many questions about how David Corenswet’s Clark Kent will be portrayed.
Superman takes flight
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter ten years ago, Nolan said that what he remembers about the 1978 Superman is that “it was a great origin story. It had the tone, the emotion, the spectacle… but what really impressed me was the narrative structure.” Something he later used as a template for Batman Begins.
“This idea of telling the first steps, the doubts, the transformation… seemed to me much more powerful than starting directly with Batman in Gotham delivering justice,” Nolan said at the time.
In fact, Batman Begins takes almost an hour before showing Bruce Wayne dressed as Batman, and this was a deliberate decision. Nolan wanted the audience to connect with him as a character before addressing the icon itself, and that’s exactly what happened with Christopher Reeve’s Superman, whose childhood, adolescence, and development took up much of the movie before the audience saw him fly as Superman.
Although the tones and styles of the two movies are completely different, at their core, both deal with the same thing: the journey to become something greater than oneself. And that’s where Nolan found his own version of the Dark Knight.
A New Path with James Gunn
While Nolan relied on a classic narrative to build a hero from scratch, James Gunn chose a different path and we already know that his Superman will not be an origin story, but rather the introduction of a Clark Kent who has been saving lives for some time in a world where meta-humans are nothing new.
Gunn himself confirmed that there will be other superheroes in the story, such as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Mr. Terrific, and that we won’t see how Clark arrives on Earth or discovers his identity, because that has already happened.
And this approach is very interesting, as it makes us wonder whether it will be more difficult to emotionally connect with the character or what the hero’s journey of discovery will be like.
The most interesting thing is that even though James Gunn may not want to tell Superman’s origins textually, his movie can still engage with what Donner (and even Nolan) did differently: showing a Superman who already knows his powers but is still finding his place among humans. An idealistic character in a world that often isn’t, facing a new generation of heroes and an audience that has already seen a thousand times how a superhero is born.
That’s why these kinds of parallels between directors and stages of the DC Universe not only help us better understand what came before, but also generate more excitement for what’s to come. If Nolan took inspiration from a film as iconic as Superman, perhaps Gunn, with his more casual style, can also find the character’s heart in his own way.
Superman premieres on July 10 in Brazilian theaters.
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