Superman Director Discusses the Most Controversial Part of the Costume: The Red Trunks

We were trying on all these different versions, and we screened tested with trunks and no trunks. And one of the things David said is that Superman wants kids to not be afraid of him. He’s an alien. He’s got these incredible powers. He shoots beams out of his eyes… He’s this incredibly powerful, could be considered scary, individual and he wants people to like him. He wants to be a symbol of hope and positivity. So he dresses like a professional wrestler. He dresses in a way that makes people unafraid of him, that shows that hope that shows that positivity. And that really clicked in for me. And I think trying to pretend that Superman’s costume doesn’t have some frivolity to it at its base, trying to make it look serious, is silly because he is a superhero. He’s the first one, brightly colored and that’s who he is.