DC boss James Gunn says audiences won't be confused by all the new characters in Superman: "Oppenheimer has three times as many speaking roles as we do"

James Gunn's upcoming Superman movie is set to introduce a whole bunch of new characters to the DCU, but he's not worried about confusing audiences.

Asked if he was concerned about dropping audiences in the middle of a fully formed world already full of heroes and villains, Gunn told Esquire Philippines, "No, not really, because I’ve screened the movie for so many people and saw that people aren’t confused. So I know from fact that it’s not confusing."

The first big-screen outing for Gunn's DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters features the usual suspects (the Man of Steel, played by David Corenswet, and Lois Lane, played by Rachel Brosnahan), but there are some other names being thrown into the mix too. We can expect to be introduced to Isabela Merced's Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi's Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan's Metamorpho, and Nathan Fillion's Green Lantern, among plenty others.

"We’re used to seeing movies with protagonists and Superman is definitely the protagonist of Superman, and he has his work friends and he has his play friends," Gunn continued.

"Now, I don’t know if the Justice Gang are his play friends or if his work friends at the Daily Planet are his work friends or his play friends, but that’s the two groups of his friends from different places. And just because they have insignias on their costumes or superpowers doesn’t mean they’re not like any other supporting character in any movie. I think Oppenheimer has three times as many speaking roles as we do. So I think people are fine."

Christopher Nolan's 2023 historical drama about the birth of the atom bomb boasted a pretty massive cast, with everyone from Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon to Florence Pugh, Gary Oldman, and Jack Quaid rounding out the supporting cast behind Cillian Murphy's J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Superman arrives in theaters on July 11. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other upcoming superhero movies on the way from both DC and Marvel.