'Superman's production designer used "242 giant ice crystals" to craft 'Ice Fortress' in James Gunn directorial

Washington DC [US], July 13 : DC's 'Superman' production designer Beth Mickle spent six months designing Superman's home, the Fortress of Solitude, in the recently released James Gunn directorial 'Superman', reported Variety.

According to the outlet, Mickle, who has earlier worked with Gunn on 'Guardians of the Galaxy 3', called the Superman fortress one of her most challenging set builds till now. She took 16 weeks to build the set.

The newly released film 'Superman' starring David Corenswet features a home of the superhero, which looks like a fortress made out of ice.

"We felt so much pressure to pay homage to the original and to keep audiences happy," she told Variety.

In the Richard Donner 'Superman' films in 1970-80s, the fortress was made out of an an ice crystal after it was thrown on the ground.

While honoring what had come before, Mickle also wanted to inject something fresh into imagining what the set would look like, reported Variety.

The Fortress exteriors were shot in Norway's Svalbard, an archipelago between Norway and the North Pole, whose icy terrain was the perfect setting for the frosty fort, according to the outlet.

Mickle admits, "Building it was a massive challenge. We built 242 giant crystals, they're all real." The crystals were made from resin.

"All the resin that existed on the Eastern seaboard in 2023, we bought it all," says Mickle, "It was cheaper than a CGI set," said Mickle as quoted by Variety.

The only interaction with CG, she says, was to create the movement of the Fortress as it rises from below the ice.

As per the trailer, inside Superman's secret base are the robots, who are referred to by their respective numbers. They heal him by exposing him to the solar rays.

The "computer dashboard" and every crystal behind it, along with the floor, were also physical builds, reported Variety.

The set beautifully complements the Superman outfit, and the actor David Corenswet admitted Mickle. While recalling the first appearance of Corenswet on the newly built sets, Michle said, "Nobody was in there because they were going to be shooting an exterior. I turned around and saw David walking up the steps in his long red cape. He came over, was so gracious and complimented the set."

Meanwhile, James Gunn's Superman was released on July 11. The movie had a tremendous start at the box office.

According to Variety, the movie got off the ground with 56.5 million USD across Friday and preview screenings in 4,135 theatres.

That's the second-biggest such figure for the calendar year, floating just behind 'A Minecraft Movie' (57.11 million USD) and ahead of 'Lilo & Stitch' (55.94 million USD).

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor