You Won’t Believe What Krypto Does in the Superman Trailer

DC Studios is heading into a new chapter. Superman, a rebooted version of the famous caped crusader from writer-director James Gunn, is heading to theaters this July, and after months of speculation, the first full trailer dropped in the early hours on Thursday, and fans certainly have a lot to be excited about. It’s an ambitious film that casts a new Clark Kent, a hot-headed Lois Lane, an ensemble of DC’s heroes and villains, and one superdog that steals the entire show.

It’s a new direction, but not a new origin story.

DC has played with Superman’s origin story over the decades, most recently the CGI-heavy Man of Steel in 2013, but Gunn has already made it clear that this film will be a more personal take on Clark Kent’s story, one that has little to do with how he got his powers, and more about what he does with them.

“The story isn’t his origin,” Gunn told Marvel Studios and DC fans on the latest edition of the Wolverine-themed podcast Jolt, produced by Dave Glover. “It’s about Clark trying to figure out who he is because he’s got two very different, equally valid identities that pull him in two opposite directions. We’re not telling the origin story of Superman. We’re not doing a ‘how did he get his powers’ kind of thing. This is just the beginning of the character’s journey.”

Settling into a metaphorical mid-life crisis of sorts, Gunn’s Superman is a look at Clark Kent and the inner battle he faces being torn between his Kryptonian royal blood and the humble, small-town son of farmers in Kansas that he wants to be.

The actor stepping into that shiny red-and-blue suit is David Corenswet, who many fans will know for his supporting work in films and series, including Pearl and the award-winning, Emmy-winning HBO Max series Hollywood. He’s playing Superman as a 25-year-old with far more experience than the wide-eyed, inexperienced reporter we’ve been accustomed to for a long time. His secret identity as Clark Kent is a major part of the film, and it’s primarily reflected in his relationship with Lois Lane.

Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) is taking on the famously saucy reporter role. Lois is introduced in the trailer in a fun inversion of normal filming, a mock interview by running in slow motion away from “Superman” (spoiler: he’s Clark Kent in disguise), with the two playfully bantering back and forth. It’s clear early on that there’s some serious chemistry between Lois and Clark, with each one stepping on the other’s toes, but it’s not clear from the trailer if she suspects his secret identity, or if she’s in on it from the start. Some think she is. Others, myself included, feel like she probably isn’t, based on the context of the scene and the expressions of both Brosnahan and Corenswet. All we know is the two are competing and flirting, and we’re dying to know more about them.

The most notable name announced so far has been Nicholas Hoult (The First Avenger: Civil War) as the world’s first billionaire, the villainous Lex Luthor. The trailer teases his expected blend of toxic masculinity and corporate CEO villainy. And while Luthor is one of the most famous DC villains, he’s not alone in the film. Kara El Arabian will play Eve Teschmacher (played by Sara Sampaio), and Terence Rosemore will play Otis, Clark Kent’s two loyal Luthor Foundation coworkers with questionable ethics.

Superman isn’t all humans, though. It’s a kaiju battle out there

Look who else is stealing the show? If you spotted Superman’s white puppy Krypto in last December’s teaser trailer, you were in for a treat, because in the first full trailer, the Kryptonian hound has more than just puppy cuteness to spare. If you can even call it “cuteness.”

Fans first saw Krypto dragging a bloodied and unconscious Superman across snow and toward the relative safety of the Fortress of Solitude. The new trailer amplifies that moment, giving the dog more screentime and heroics than one might expect. Not only does he dogfight (pun intended) Lex Luthor on the ground, the power-pup holds his own against the human menagerie of high-tech kaiju, The Engineer, played by Maria Gabriela de Faria. The villain dons black spandex pants, a skin-tight tank top, and weaponized rotating blades with no signs of arms or hands (the latter due to nanotechnology Luthor used to fight a dictator in the lead-up to the film’s events). Angela Spica (The Engineer) and her squad launch a full-scale assault on the Fortress.

A lot is going on in this trailer. Fans of non-human kaiju, epic fights, and coming together as a team will enjoy seeing Krypto and a bevy of lesser-known DC Comics characters. Nathan Fillion (Syfy’s The Orville) plays bowl-cut Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan (Boardwalk Empire) plays Rex Mason aka Metamorpho, who can shapeshift and control elements through his body, Isabela Merced (Brightburn: Son of Darkness) will play the winged warrior Hawkgirl, and Edi Gathegi (Best of Enemies) will portray Michael Holt/Mister Terrific, a technological genius who became a masked crime-fighter. An uncredited cameo by Grant Gustin as The Flash is teased at the end.

Fans also finally get a look at Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El—aka Supergirl. The young character will be played by Milly Alcock, and you can check her out on the left during the final minutes of the trailer. Kara and Clark have quite the family tree to explore on Krypton, but they’ll have to do it without either of their parents. Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell have signed on to play Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman’s adoptive parents on Earth, respectively.

Frank Grillo also returns as Rick Flag Sr. from the animated series Creature Commandos, and you can see Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord.

Truth, Justice, and a Lot of Heart

We’ve gone over how the film is going to explore the heroism and human nature of Clark Kent, but the Superman trailer is filled with the actual acting chops of the film and the characters. Superman is already facing challenges that aren’t directly saving humanity or engaging in battles. Lois grills him in the trailer about the optics of his actions and why he hasn’t consulted the U.S. Secretary of Defense. Superman answers back at Lois with a hint of resignation: “People were going to die!”

The humor is laced throughout, too. At the end of the trailer, Superman is lying on his bed, catching a moment of peace. Clark knows it, and the same can be said for Krypto, the large superdog sound asleep on his chest with a clear sense of relief and contentment. It’s one of the best shots from the trailer because it captures the heart the film aims to pack.