The Man of Steel is soaring to new heights... literally! To promote the impending release of Superman, an eleven-foot statue of the classic DC hero was displayed yesterday at the top of The Shard, the tallest building in the UK.
As reported by the London Evening Standard, the statue was constructed from fibreglass moulded in Eco Resin over a period of around four months, so Warner Bros. clearly planned this publicity stunt well in advance. And metal cables were used to secure the statue to the top of the skyscraper, and since the cables are almost transparent, it truly seemed as though the statue was flying. Since The Shard is the UK’s tallest building, it made sense for Superman to choose it as a vantage point while he watched over the City of London.
Although the cables seemed to be almost invisible, they were also clearly incredibly strong and sturdy, as the statue weighed a hefty eighteen stone. But you would probably have had to squint in order to see the statue if you were on the ground, since The Shard is 1,016 ft (309 meters) tall. But this was still a visually spectacular way to market one of the year’s biggest films.
Superman was written and directed by Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn, who also serves as the current co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios (alongside Peter Safran). It stars David Corenswet as the titular superhero and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, with the supporting cast featuring Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. In a statement which was quoted in the article from the London Evening Standard, Gunn said the following about the impressive statue which loomed over London:
"To see such a realistic depiction of our Superman displayed on the top of The Shard is mind-blowing...Bringing one of cinema's greatest heroes to life for the new film has been the adventure of a lifetime. This will take some beating, London."
As fans who have eagerly been marking the days of their calendars will no doubt be aware, Superman will open in wide release on July 11. And given the lengths that Warner Bros. is clearly willing to go to in order to promote the movie, we can no doubt expect it to be a massive financial success.
The movie is set to relaunch Warner Bros.' DC cinematic adventures, serving as the first film in Gunn and Safran's new DC Universe (which will also consist of future movies Supergirl, Clayface, The Brave and the Bold, a new Wonder Woman movie and more). Here's hoping it's up, up, and away for DC!