The Runtime Of James Gunn’s Superman Leaked, And It’s Sticking With What Works
Settle in for the long haul.
Superhero movies have developed a reputation for overstaying their welcome. Avengers: Endgame was over three hours long, while the Snyder Cut of Justice League was an exhausting four hours. It’s rare for any Marvel or DC movie to clock in at under two hours, and we now know that DC’s next era of movies will be in line with that long tradition.
According to the usually reliable Hollywood leaker Jeff Sneider, James Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie will have a runtime of approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes. That makes it longer than The Suicide Squad, but shorter than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, both also directed by Gunn.
1978’s Superman was about two hours and 20 minutes long too.
While fans may be getting a bit sick of superhero slogs, 2:20 is standard for a Superman movie. It’s three minutes shorter than 2013’s Man of Steel, and only 11 minutes shorter than Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
In fact, this runtime follows a long tradition for Superman that dates back to the original 1978 movie. Pretty much every Superman film has had a runtime of at least two hours. The only exceptions are Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Superman Returns, which both clocked in at around 90 minutes, and the less said about those sequels, the better.
James Gunn has always emphasized that this Superman movie would be a return to the hero’s classic stylings, so it's not surprising that the runtime is no exception. Even the title change from Superman: Legacy to simply Superman emphasized tradition. Superman fans sat in theaters for over two hours in the ‘70s, and they’ll do the same today. This new movie is also trying to launch an entire franchise, but let’s hope Superman manages to strike that careful balance between rushing through its story and forcing fans to plan out bathroom breaks.
