- In a recent interview, James Gunn confirmed that his Superman movie will answer how Clark's glasses conceal his identity as Superman.
- Gunn said that the Superman movie will address this, and the reason might come across as a bit funny to the audience but it indeed is canon.
- Superman releases in theaters worldwide on July 11, 2025.
Since Superman took flight in comic books—or even on screen—fans have always wondered how a simple pair of glasses has been able to conceal Superman’s identity and convince people that he’s just Clark Kent. There was never really a solid answer to this question, but it looks like things are about to change, as James Gunn has claimed that he’s finally bringing us the answer to why glasses are enough for Superman to hide his identity from Lois and everyone else in the upcoming Superman movie so let’s see what he has to say.
Why Does No One Know Clark Kent Is Superman?
Recently, James Gunn sat down for an interview with Rolling Stone, where he was asked a bunch of questions about his vision for the DCU. Unsurprisingly, a lot of those questions zeroed in on Superman. One, in particular, tackled the age-old “glasses” debate. The interviewer asked if Superman, which is set three years into Clark Kent already being Superman, was planning to skip the question of how Lois Lane never saw through Clark’s disguise.
To that, Gunn had a cheeky response. He confirmed that Superman (2025) will address this very thing, and while the explanation might make audiences chuckle, it’s not just a gag; it’s canon. Gunn said—
“It comes up again later in the movie and it’s explained. She says it. We mention it. And it’s a one-off and people chuckle, but there’s stuff later in the movie about the glasses that are canon. That’s canon in the comics.”
Following this, the interviewer dove a little deeper into the comics and brought up a wild explanation from a 70s issue, most likely Superman #330, which claimed that people couldn’t recognize Clark Kent as Superman because of super-hypnotism. Apparently, Clark subconsciously used his powers to alter people’s perception of him. Now, as outlandish as that sounds, James Gunn responded with a chuckle-worthy reveal.
He admitted that while his movie won’t exactly go the super-hypnotism route, the reasoning is indeed in that territory. Gunn said the whole “glasses fooling everyone” trope used to frustrate him, too, but eventually, he and the team landed on a solution that works. According to him—
Something like that! I only know it from Tom King. The first time we met was at Peter’s house. We had this sort of writers group come in. One of those people was Tom King, and he was the most helpful. I’m like, “I just don’t know how to f****** deal with the glasses thing, because it bothers the f*** out of me.” All that little stuff that people are like, “It’s a fantasy, just let it go.” I’m like, “No, I have to explain everything.” Everything for me has to come from a place where I believe it, as outlandish as it is. With Rocket, I could not just make it a talking raccoon. It had to have a real foundation for where he came from and how he came to be. And I needed to believe that.” – James Gunn
So, with these statements, it is pretty clear that James Gunn is quite adamant about making sense of everything Superman, which I believe is a good thing. So, let’s wait and see what James Gunn has cooked up with Superman as it releases in theaters worldwide on July 11, 2025.
