Superman movie: Could you use it to write about faith?

This MTI blog series presents many practical communication principles for reaching secular readers. Now consider a timely example of an outreach article and think about how and why it might – or might not – work.

Warner Bros.’ Superman movie opens on 6 continents during July, maybe in your country. In these tumultuous times, many people want goodness, kindness, safety, protection, and hope. The Superman character offers these. And his saga is filled with Jesus parallels.

Why not write about this film, discuss faith implications, and ride Warner Bros.’ multimillion dollar publicity wave to take your message into thousands – maybe millions – of secular readers’ needy hearts?

Is your nation on the list of nations where the film opens? Could your article appear in one – or more – of these countries?

Europe: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Africa: Sierra Leone
Asia: Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates
North America: Canada, Mexico, United States
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay
Oceania: Australia

Writing about Superman could help spread your message far and wide, crossing geographic barriers and maybe even language barriers as people from other cultures translate your material. Although my articles have appeared online in any of 14 languages, rarely have I arranged for a translation. People just find the articles and translate them.

Here are various translations of the word “Superman”: 超人 (Chinese), सुपरमैन (Hindi), スーパーマン (Japanese), Супермен (Russian), Supermenas (Lithuanian). Maybe your article could appear in one of these languages.

**A recent Superman article**

Consider how RWC’s recent Superman movie article attempts to connect emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually with a global audience:

Superman movie: What’s the Appeal? Fan anticipation for the new Superman movie has been high. Filmmaker James Gunn reported after the first trailer release, “With over 250 million views and a million social posts, Superman is officially the most viewed and the most talked about trailer in the history of both DC and Warner Bros.” Gunn explains that as a child he “loved the purity of Superman” and emphasized this Superman is “noble … beautiful … good.” (Short op-ed published by OrlandoSentinel.com)

The first publisher of this article was the Orlando Sentinel, a mainstream secular newspaper in Florida, USA. (The Sentinel online article link may lead you to a paywall. You may be able to access a free PDF of the Sentinel article here.)

The Orlando Sentinel website has 3.1 million page views per month, 1.4 million unique visitors per month. (Numbers do not include additional exposure via apps, e-edition, print, etc.). The prospect of distribution among a wide audience motivates me to work very hard to ensure my articles will connect with the intended secular readers.

Maybe God could use something similar that you produce to reach those outside our faith through your own publications. Or maybe he could use you to write a piece in a secular, mainstream publication to reach even more. You could tap readers’ interest with an article that discusses a subject they may already be thinking about. You would be “having a conversation” with your readers about a secular topic and then tactfully bringing Jesus into the conversation.

**Biblical parallels in Superman story**

Two Jewish teenagers created the Superman story in the 1930s. Jor-El on the dying planet Krypton, named his son Kal-El. El is a Hebrew name for God. Jor-El launched his only son in a capsule toward earth.

Similarly, the biblical Moses’ mother placed her baby in a basket by the Nile to shield him from a murderous edict. The adult Moses became his people’s deliverer.

Concerning Superman and Jesus, in both stories, a father sends his only son to earth, to be a savior. In both film and comics, Superman has died and reappeared alive. The list goes on.

Superhero stories and faith

Superhero films can be excellent springboards for communicating faith. See the articles listed at the bottom of this piece on Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League.

As you write, you can follow Jesus’ classic example with the Samaritan woman in John 4. An earlier MTI article on Jesus, the Samaritan woman, and Superman discusses this approach.

Film article timing

If you are reading this article in July or August 2025, while Superman movie publicity is widespread, you could watch the film in a theater, write an article, and publish it while public interest is high.

If you are reading this after film publicity has waned, perhaps the ideas can guide your future writing.

Studios maximize publicity the week before a film opens, hoping that packed opening weekend theaters will stimulate future attendance. How can you view a film before it opens so your article can ride the publicity wave?

Getting advance press screening opportunities

In 2012 / 2013, Les Misérables opened internationally. Via email and phone, I knocked on many Universal Pictures doors and finally got invited to a San Francisco advance press screening. Our article Les Misérables film: Mercy Triumphs released shortly before opening day. 29 websites – from Abu Dhabi to Australia – published it and many more linked to it.

A Universal staffer connected me with Allied Global Marketing (an agency many studios hire to promote their films) which, after vetting me, added me to their journalist promotion list. Now I regularly get film pitches and screening invitations, more than I can handle.

Numerous other agencies also provide advance screening opportunities in theaters and/or online. Samples: Grace Hill Media, 130a, A. Larry Ross, Biscuit Media Group, Collide Media Group, Dovetail Solutions, Epic, Falco Ink, Icon Media Group, Troops & Allies, Wit PR. Perhaps similar agencies exist in your country or region.

I pray these stories and ideas can assist you to write about films that can get readers considering Jesus and his ways and that your articles get wide distribution.

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BTW, you are certainly welcome to republish RWC outreach articles like one about the Superman movie. The simple permissions info is here.

Want to know more? Gratis online resources:

Superhero movie articles:

Superman Returns: Superhero Still Needed? Superman has returned. Bad guys, beware! Why has the Superman story remained so popular? What is it about the Man of Steel that captures the public imagination? Does the world still need a superhero? (Short op-ed)

Man of Steel movie: got hope? “What’s the ‘S’ stand for?” Lois Lane asks Superman in the new movie. “It’s not an ‘S’,” responds the Man of Steel. “On my world, it means ‘hope’.” Man of Steel is a fun film that taps deep human desires for self-identity, purpose and hope. How do you find genuine, lasting hope? (Short op-ed)

Batman v Superman movie: Superhero rumble. Both stand for good, fight crime, and help the needy. So, why are these two guys fighting each other? Is it turf wars – Gotham vs. Metropolis? Do they each have Lois Lane crushes? Welcome to the backstory of how these two met. (Short op-ed)

Justice League movie: Hope lost; hope restored. When Superman’s dead – and the bad guys are closing in fast, and all hope seems lost – who you gonna call? How about the Justice League! Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg team up to fight evil and seek justice for all. Warner Bros. brings their story to theaters on 6 continents. (Short op-ed)

Wonder Woman movie: Want her on your side? She deflects speeding bullets with her bracelets, swan dives off a tall cliff to rescue an Army officer who’s crash landed in the ocean, and dazzles with spectacular sword-and-shield combat moves. She does it all with power, grace, wisdom, and…wonder. If you were choosing teammates to defeat the bad guys, would you pick Wonder Woman? (Short op-ed)

‘Wonder Woman 1984’ movie: Will you get what you want? Suppose you could have anything you ever wanted – fame, fortune, relationships, pleasure. Would that make you happy? A megalomaniacal global villain is tapping human desires to help him dominate civilization. In 1984, Wonder Woman races to foil his dastardly scheme. (Short op-ed published by Washington Examiner)

Some training resources for Christian communicators:

Jesus, the Samaritan woman, and Superman. Jesus’ famous encounter with the Woman at the Well (John 4) carries invaluable insights into reaching secular readers. Have fun learning how this story helped shape a widely used outreach article about the Man of Steel. (Part of Magazine Training International’s Reaching Secular Readers series.)

Writing for Secular Publications. This blog series aims to help publishers and writers analyze nonbelieving readers and effectively point them to Jesus. Bravo, if you’ve been adjusting your Christian publications to reach secular folks! But maybe God could also use you to write outreach articles for secular (mainstream) publications and websites. Some stories to inspire you. (Part of Magazine Training International’s Reaching Secular Readers series.)

The Audience Map is a Cru interactive online tool to help Christian communicators analyze their audience and develop ideas for reaching them. Easy to use, global in scope, and research based. It includes videos and many questions to help you think through skeptics, seekers, the spiritually disinterested, nominal Christians and more. Offered as “Your missional guide to seeing and loving people in the digital age.”

by Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. Over 2,000 websites – secular and Christian, based on 6 continents – have used his resources in any of 14 languages. www.RustyWright.com