The director and star didn’t see eye to eye on the tone of the film’s climactic smooch.

David Corenswet and James Gunn disagreed about Superman’s big Clark-Lois kiss: ‘It’s not working’

The director and star didn't see eye to eye on the tone of the film's climactic smooch.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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on December 7, 2025 2:33 p.m. ET

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David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan in 'Superman'. Credit:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Sometimes a passionate couple inspires passionate discourse.

That was certainly the case for "Clois," says *Superman* star David Corenswet, who recently opened up about having a little disagreement with director James Gunn over the tone of the movie's climactic kiss.

When the latest Man of Steel sat down with *Wicked*'s Jonathan Bailey for *Variety*'s "Actors on Actors" series, the musical star praised how Corenswet's Clark Kent/Superman smooched Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane while the couple floated midair in a final scene.

"I was like, 'Oh, shit' when I saw your kiss at the end," Bailey said in the interview, published Sunday. "My favorite moment of chemistry is the chuckle."

The romantic moment between the pair comes at the movie's conclusion, when Lois is finally ready to answer Clark's declaration of love with four magic words of her own. Her confession prompts Corenswet's Superman to chuckle and grin — but according to the actor, that wasn't the reaction Gunn was looking for.

James Gunn and David Corenswet on the set of 'Superman'.

**"**James, when I was doing that chuckle when she says, 'I love you, too,' he came up to me and said, 'It's not working. It needs to be solemn,'" Corenswet recalled. "I was like, 'No! The whole point is, 'I f---ing know that you love me.'"

Corenswet added that he pushed back several times while shooting the movie, only to realize that Gunn was right all along. But with the lip-lock, he wouldn't budge.

"Credit to James. He was right on 90 percent of everything," he said. "But on that one, he saw that chuckle was a very truthful thing."

Watch 'Superman' stars David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan recreate their onscreen chemistry (exclusive)

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At this point, it's no secret that Corenswet and Gunn didn't always see eye to eye while filming *Superman*. Earlier this year, audiences got a firsthand look at how intense their disagreements could become via a behind-the-scenes featurette. The clip, which made the rounds on social media back in August, showed Gunn and Corenswet in the midst of an impassioned discussion about Superman's motivation while facing off against his nemesis in the movie, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).

The footage begins with Gunn offering his interpretation before Corenswet resists. Eventually, he becomes so frustrated that he marches off set and over to where Gunn is sitting in video village so they can hash things out face-to-face. After a back-and-forth, Gunn says something that clicks and Corenswet heads back to set for another run-through.

"[That] perfectly clarified what the character was doing in that moment and what I should be doing in that moment," Corenswet explained in the featurette. "All the credit goes to James for saying that sentence and for sticking with me and the conversation long enough to get to that sentence, because I didn't make it easy for him."

James Gunn and David Corenswet.

Eric Charbonneau/Warner Bros. via Getty

Reflecting on fans' reactions to the fiery clip in the new interview, Corenswet told Bailey that he's happy to know the moment was immortalized on camera.

"I feel so lucky that that is on film, and it was interesting hearing from people what they thought of it — everything from, 'Well, that's what always happens,' all the way to, 'What a terrible working environment,'" he said. "For me, it does happen all the time. It was amazing how indefatigable James was. He very rarely got fed up with me, because I think he knew that the reason I'm having those conversations with him is, at my boldest, because I think I might see something that he doesn't see and he might value."

He continued, "I never want any director to say, 'Fine. If you need that, go do it.' I'm not doing it just for me. I might see something here that you actually like, and then you'll feel like it's yours. But on the other end, I don't know how to do a good job otherwise."

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Since casting Corenswet as Superman in his DC Universe reboot, Gunn has only sung the actor's praises — even when it comes to his constant stream of questions.

"Every once in a while, it's just one question too many, and it's like, 'Oh, my God, just, David, stop, stop for a minute,'" the director joked earlier this year. But Gunn was still grateful for the actor's input, saying he appreciated his eagerness to "help make the film as good as possible."

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