The Russo Brothers On Why Superman Is The Most Difficult Hero To Translate On Film

Marvel directors Joe and Anthony Russo might have plenty of experience working on major comic book movies like Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, but the directorial duo admit that they'd find it difficult to translate a superhero as iconic and as big as Superman on the big screen.

The Russo brothers just recently spoke in an interview with Business Insider, and during their discussion with the publication, the filmmakers were asked which superheroes they thought would be the most difficult to bring to the big screen.

The decision wasn't too hard for Anthony or for Joe. Both brothers unanimously choose DC's Man of Steel as one of the most difficult characters to translate on film.

"He's a very difficult character. You have to find an emotional flaw or weakness in the character in order to make them vulnerable," Joe explained.

Anthony elaborated further, saying that the more powerful a superhero is, the more difficult it is to make him a compelling character on the big screen.

"The more powerful a character is, the more difficult to deal with that character on a narrative level. As storytellers and the way we explore characters, we always look for vulnerabilities in characters because that's where characters become interesting. They're superficially interesting in their strength, but they get much more depth when you find where they don't have that kind of strength. In general, the more powerful a character is, the more tricky that is."

That's very true for Superman. Not only is he the comic book movie embodiment of the perfect American boy scout, but he's a god-like character with his strength, endurance, and all of the other abilities bestowed upon him. How do you make Superman more human, more relatable?

In the DCEU, Zack Snyder tried his best to bring Superman down to our level by putting him through very difficult moments that would force him to ask hard questions like whether being a hero was actually really worth it. Though some didn't quite appreciate that in Man of Steel, Snyder did try his best to make Supes more human for everyone.

What do you think of Henry Cavill's Man of Steel? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Read: The Russo Brothers Are Still Open To Working With Marvel Studios After Completing Avengers: Endgame