There hasn’t been much buzz over James Gunn’s latest film “Super,” but after SDCC, it’ll go down as one of the best panel showings this year and for very good reasons.
One of the biggest mysterious surrounding “Super” was what it could possibly be about. So without further ado Gunn called out this cast of stars — Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Taylor and Nathan Fillion — and introduced us to some clips.
We’re shown the trailer which reveals the plot of “Super.” It tells the story of everyday man Frank D’Abro (Wilson) who loses his loving wife Sarah (Liv Taylor) to a drug dealer played by Kevin Bacon who shoots and tests drugs out on her. His life is in shambles and in his depression, anger and frustration, he creates a superhero alter ego named Crimson Bolt. His inspiration, Nathan’s character, the Holy Avenger who appears as a figment of his imagination and drives him into becoming a superhero. He eventually finds himself a sociopath inching on psychopath sidekick played by Ellen Page and tries to reclaim his life and what’s his in a sense of justice.
The film is very similar in tone to “Kick-Ass” and “Defendor” but it has a certain charm to it that only Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page and Kevin Bacon can bring to it — uncomfortable, violent, hilarious, silly and poignant.
“I read the script and I thought, ‘This is fantastic, it’s dark, it’s funny, it’s got the grotesque angle you’ve come to expect from James Gunn,” said Fillion.
Gunn described how “Super” was a long time coming. Largely in part due to the main character he was seeking:
“It was a very difficult role to fill. It had to be a guy who had the comedic chops, but it also had to be a guy who had the dramatic chops, because there’s a lot of drama in the movie, and it also had to be somebody who you could believe could be picked on by everybody… and yet be powerful enough to take down a bunch of people with a wrench and a shotgun.”
Moreover, Gunn told the audience that never in his wildest dreams did he think he could ever get Page and Taylor to star in his movie because of the shoestring budget. In fact, he even admitted that he originally wanted actors like Page and Taylor (thinking he’d never get them) but then decided to just send them the script and see what happened.
A short clip was also shown. It showed Frank waiting in line while a douchy couple cuts in front of him and everyone else. He decides to say something about it but was told to just shut the hell up and mind his own business. Discontent he leaves the line and heads to his car. The scene cuts to a hilarious scene with him changing into his costume in his car. He returns to the line with a wrench and the guy tells him that he recognizes him from earlier. He doesn’t care and caves his head in with the wrench. He then attacks the man’s girlfriend/wife. The scene ends as people run and scream in terror. Realizing what had happen, he then takes off himself.
“Super” is currently in post-production pending a release date. This is a can’t miss for sure even if you’re not into capes and superheroes.