While James Gunn has acknowledged that he expected set photos of Superman to leak, he would never film a major spoiler out in public. Nevertheless, as new cast members have shown up, fans think they have worked out a fairly major plot point.
It was always a bit of a mystery as to why the other, somewhat random heroes besides Superman were chosen to appear in this movie, namely Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl. But now that all three are on set, the concept seems to be coming together.
Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner and Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl are now filming, and in set shots have been spotting wearing comic-based uniforms, but with a twist, they are emblazoned with the Maxwell Lord logo.
Maxwell Lord, last seen on screen in the DCEU played by Pedro Pascal in the unfortunately terribly Wonder Woman 1984, is a corporate comic villain. Now, he’s played by Gunn’s brother, Sean Gunn, in the DCU.
The idea here appears to be some sort of super-team under the employ of Maxwell Lord, possibly run by Mr. Terrific, who in the comics had his own team, The Terrifics. Guy Gardner, meanwhile, was once a part of the JLI, or Justice League International, where he was a “loutish hothead.” I can easily see Nathan Fillion turn in that kind of performance for this film under Gunn. It’s also easy to understand why this group wouldn’t use the heaviest of hitters, other JLA members like Flash, Wonder Woman or Batman.
So, the theory is this, that at least part of Superman’s plot will have him perhaps not fighting, but competing against a rival, corporatized superhero team as opposed to his own desire/calling to be a hero for its own sake, no strings attached, no overlord dictating his path. How that plotline may resolve itself is unclear, but the idea may be that he changes hearts and minds, disbands that team, and they get other outfits that are de-Lord-ified.
I also read a theory that this might be a Gunn-based critique of the MCU, commenting on “corporate” heroes that are packaged and sold like products (The Boys also does this, of course). I’m not necessarily sure that’s what he’s going for, given that he did commit to three enormous MCU movies and they’re a big part of his life, but who knows.
Yes, it’s a lot to read into a logo on a suit, but given some elements of comic history and the general vibe of how Superman seems to be shaping up, yeah, I can buy it.
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