Honestly, the sheer amount of pressure on James Gunn’s shoulders during the production of the new Superman must have been suffocating. You’ve got a fandom that’s basically been in a civil war for a decade, a brand-new studio hierarchy at DC, and the ghost of Christopher Reeve looming over every single frame. But when you look at the Superman 2025 behind the scenes footage and the stories trickling out from the set, it’s clear this wasn't just another corporate assembly line production. It was something way more personal.
Gunn didn't just want to make a movie. He wanted to reclaim a vibe.
The production, which wrapped in July 2024, wasn't tucked away in a dark soundstage for the whole year. They went outside. They got dirty. They dealt with the kind of logistical nightmares that make accountants cry but make cinephiles drool. From the frozen reaches of the Arctic to the humid streets of Ohio, the making of this film was a massive exercise in "doing it for real" whenever possible.
The Brutal Reality of Filming in the Arctic
The movie starts in the "Antarctic" at the Fortress of Solitude. Except, they didn't go to Antarctica. They went to Svalbard, Norway. Specifically, a place called Adventdalen.
It’s a 19-mile valley that looks like the end of the world. James Gunn chose it because it’s hauntingly beautiful and, more importantly, it has a specific type of light you just can't fake with a Volume or a green screen. The crew spent a week there in March 2024. It was freezing. Wind chill factors that would turn a regular person into an icicle. David Corenswet had to maintain his "Super-composure" while standing in sub-zero temperatures, often in a suit that, while high-tech, isn't exactly a North Face parka.
Gunn mentioned in interviews that they shot the very first scenes of the movie here—Superman fleeing to the Fortress for some self-reflection. There’s something poetic about the production starting in total isolation. It set the tone for the character: a guy who is literally the most powerful being on Earth but feels completely alone.
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How Cleveland Became the New Metropolis
Metropolis has always been a weird mix of New York and Chicago, but for 2025, it’s actually Cleveland, Ohio. This was a deliberate nod to history. Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were Cleveland kids.
For six weeks in the summer of 2024, downtown Cleveland was a war zone. But a fun one. The production took over Public Square, the Detroit-Superior Bridge, and the Leader Building. The Leader Building actually served as the exterior for the Daily Planet. Fun fact: that building was actually a newspaper office back in the day.
Locals caught glimpses of Corenswet in the suit almost daily. This led to a ton of "leaked" photos, but Gunn didn't seem to mind much. He actually praised the city for its architectural variety. They even rebranded Progressive Field—the home of the Cleveland Guardians—into the stadium for the "Metropolis Meteors."
The Interior Secret
While the outside of the Daily Planet is Cleveland, the inside is actually a train station in Georgia. Specifically, the Terminal Station in Macon. They replaced the passenger benches with newsroom desks. It’s a Beaux-Arts style building from 1916, which gives the newsroom a sense of history and weight that a modern office building just wouldn't have.
David Corenswet’s Massive Physical Evolution
Everyone wants to know about the workout. It’s the standard superhero trope, right?
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David Corenswet basically lived in the gym for months. He worked with trainer Paolo Mascitti, the same guy who prepped Glen Powell for Top Gun: Maverick. Corenswet reportedly gained about 45 pounds of muscle. He was eating roughly 4,500 calories a day. Think about that. That’s a lot of chicken and rice.
But it wasn't just about looking like a bodybuilder. Gunn wanted a Superman who moved gracefully.
The training focused heavily on core stability and calisthenics. Why? Because when you’re hanging from wires 40 feet in the air, trying to look like you’re "flying" and not just "hanging," you need insane body control. Corenswet did a lot of "Superman holds" (ironic, I know) and hanging leg raises to ensure his midsection could handle the torque of the flying rigs. He even drew inspiration from his 6'8" brother-in-law for how a "big man" tries to take up less space—perfect for the Clark Kent persona.
The "No CGI Face" Controversy and the Science Behind It
When the first trailer dropped, some people on Reddit went nuts saying Superman’s face looked "uncanny" or "fake" during the flying scenes. James Gunn actually stepped in to debunk this personally.
He insisted there was zero CGI used on Corenswet’s face.
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The look everyone was tripping over was actually the result of the Leica Tri-Elmar lens. It’s a very specific piece of glass that creates a slight distortion at the edges of the frame. When you combine that with the RED V-Raptor [X] cameras and a wide-angle shot, the face can look slightly "smoothed" or exaggerated.
Inspired by Top Gun
The flying sequences themselves took a page out of the Top Gun: Maverick playbook. Instead of just static cameras, they used tiny, high-speed drones (FPV drones) to buzz around Corenswet and the other heroes while they were on the rigs. This gives the aerial action a frantic, physical energy that you usually only see in real-world dogfights.
The Music: A Mix of New and Very Old
The soundtrack is a whole other story. John Murphy and David Fleming are the composers, but they didn't just ditch the past.
Gunn confirmed they are using a reimagined version of John Williams' legendary 1978 "Superman March." It’s a risky move. Some critics think it’s a "cheap" nostalgia play, but others argue you can't have Superman without those specific notes.
The score was recorded at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. between 2023 and 2025. It’s a massive 33-track album. Interestingly, the score isn't just orchestral. Fleming apparently used electric and acoustic guitars to give some themes a "messy" or "off-kilter" feel. There's even a punk rock track by Teddybears featuring Iggy Pop that plays at the end of the movie.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
If you're following the Superman 2025 behind the scenes developments or trying to understand how modern blockbusters are pivoting, here is the takeaway:
- Practicality is the new "Premium": Audiences are tired of "gray sludge" CGI. By filming in Svalbard and Cleveland, Gunn is betting that real light and real wind matter more than pixel-perfect digital environments.
- The "Both" Identity: Gunn’s approach to Clark and Superman is that neither is the "real" person. They are both parts of a whole. This informs the acting—Corenswet isn't playing a bumbling Clark; he’s playing a guy trying to be quiet while being a "big presence."
- Legacy vs. Innovation: Using the John Williams theme while shooting with cutting-edge drone tech shows a desire to bridge the gap between 1978 nostalgia and 2025's technical capabilities.
The next step for anyone interested in this production is to keep an eye on the official "making-of" documentaries that usually drop alongside the film's digital release. They’ve already teased footage of the "Justice Gang" (including Anthony Carrigan’s Metamorpho) which apparently used more practical makeup and prosthetic work than anyone expected. It’s a return to form for a genre that’s been feeling a bit too digital lately.