James Gunn’s Man of Tomorrow Must Break Hollywood’s Superhero Movie Habit He Hates

James Gunn‘s Man of Tomorrow can break Hollywood’s superhero movie habit that he hates.

On Threads, a user asked Gunn about when fans can expect to get their first look at Brainiac, to which Gunn replied, “I’d rather show people nothing and have people see everything in theaters.” Gunn had a similar response when someone asked about Superman‘s new suit, saying, “If I could just drop it in theaters without showing anything I would.”

When promoting a movie, there is a saying, “Show, but don’t tell.” It means that instead of explaining a scene or a character detail, you show it without providing context. On the other hand, Gunn’s most recent comments fall in the camp of “Tell, but don’t show.”

Gunn acknowledged that he can’t have it his way. Similar to every major Hollywood movie, Man of Tomorrow will receive a trailer. While Gunn can’t withhold all of the footage in the lead-up to Man of Tomorrow, he can change a disturbing Hollywood trend that has plagued many superhero movies.

James Gunn’s Man of Tomorrow can prove superhero trailers don’t need to show everything

Superhero movies tend to show too much in the trailers. How many times have you seen a trailer and said, “I wish they didn’t reveal that?” I always come back to Captain America: Brave New World as an example of a trailer that overplayed its hand. In the trailer, Marvel spoiled the third act’s biggest reveal: Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk. That movie had many problems that led to its underperformance, but oversharing major plot points in the trailer certainly didn’t help its case.

On the flip side, “showing and not telling” also applies to Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It’s difficult to argue that Spider-Man: Brand New Day made any mistakes, considering it’s the third highest-grossing movie of all time.

What I will criticize is how Marvel handled Sadie Sink in the promotion. In the trailer, you see a character from behind who turned out to be Sink. The Stranger Things star embarked on the global promotional campaign, but she could not answer any questions about her character, Jean Grey. What’s the point of having Sink speak if she can’t say anything of relevance? I would have rather they went with the Mark Ruffalo approach. Hulk was teased in the trailer, but Ruffalo gave few interviews about his role.

As a fan, I’d much rather have Gunn’s approach in the trailer than Marvel’s for Captain America: Brave New World. Gunn has said that Lars Eidinger will play the villainous Brainiac and that Superman will have a new suit. Imagine seeing both of those reveals in the theater for the first time. Those would be special moments. Instead, Gunn will probably be forced to show both in the trailer. Again, it’s not the end of the world as long as Gunn takes a cautious approach and limits the screen time. Less is more in this case.

Let’s see if Gunn gets his way in the first Man of Tomorrow trailer.

Source: Comingsoon.net