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A surprisingly large part of life is being in the right place at the right time. For James Gunn, that meant growing a bit before he was ready to take on a project like Superman for DC Studios. When he compares himself to his Marvel Studios days, making Guardians of the Galaxy, to the writer and director he is now, the biggest difference is that he’s not hiding behind jokes anymore.

During a wide-ranging interview with Rolling Stone, James Gunn describes both the professional and personal growth he needed to undergo to reach the point where he could make a Superman movie. He went from making black comedy and edgy humor for the sake of shocking people – which briefly got him fired from Marvel Studios – to making Superman, the most earnest character in the DC Universe. “I do also think that my life, and career, has been a gradual softening of the edges. I still like black comedy. I still have edges. But I used to like provoking a lot. And today, although I still seem to do it, I don’t really like doing that. In my heart, I’m pretty sentimental. I just believe in basic human values.”

His time at Marvel helped him reach this point a bit faster. “I think Guardians of the Galaxy was a good starter kit for that. They have a lot of heart, but they do have a lot of weirdness and oddities and edginess, and Superman isn’t that, even though he does from the outside have a lot of oddness. A flying dog in a cap is odd. Giant walking robots, and kajus – that’s all odd. But the very-good nature of him, this really strong belief in what’s right, sometimes perhaps to a fault, is what makes Superman who he is. And that is not Star-Lord or Rocket. That’s not a guy who’s angry or covering up his emotions. He’s pretty pure. And so getting to the place where I could write that character was a journey.”

“In the past, I would’ve done it through making fun of the character, and I don’t think that’s what I do here.” The big difference is that James Gunn isn’t afraid to be vulnerable or sincere in his writing. “I’m less afraid now than I used to be. I allow myself to be purely creative more than I used to. And I thought I was being purely creative, but a lot of times it was just anger releasing itself in another way. I’m less afraid of being goofy or sentimental, or boring or straight.”

James Gunn's Superman is flying into theaters soon enough, and Popverse has all you need to prepare. Refreshing your cinematic memory with our Superman movie watch order, learn what we know about the upcoming Superman movie, Superman's S-Shield through the ages, and read about what DC is doing ahead of their flagship hero's triumphant return.