John Williams' heroic musical theme is inverted and the Man of Steel is seemingly out for the count in the bold new trailer for James Gunn's Superman.
The Guardians of the Galaxy director now turns his attention to DC's flagship character (Batman would also like a word). It's set to be the first film in Gunn's rebooted DC Universe series of films and stars David Corenswet (Pearl) in the title role.
Here is the trailer for you to watch.
Here's a breakdown of the trailer highlights in greater detail.
1. As rumoured, Krypto the super-dog takes centre stage
The new Superman trailer begins on a downcast note, showing the Man of Steel atypically battered, bleeding and seemingly unable to continue the fight. Until the loyal Krypto turns up.
James Gunn has long been stoking the fires of Krypto's appearance: he revealed a teaser poster showing both Supes and Krypto with their backs to us. Now, we get a sense of what it means.
For those who don't know, Krypto was introduced in 1955, making the character nearly as old as Superman himself. He was the dog of toddler Kal-El, later to become Superman/Clark Kent, while they are on Krypton. Krypto was used by Kal-El's father Jor-El as the test subject to determine the viability of sending his son to Earth.
In the original comics, Krypto's rocket is knocked off-course and drifts through space for years until it eventually lands on Earth, where Krypto is reunited with the now-teenaged superhero, Superboy/Kon-El. Krypto went on to have several superhero affiliations including the League of Super-Pets.
We don't know how much of this history will be preserved in Gunn's movie. However, it's a quirky and interesting move to have your new Superman play vulnerable second-fiddle to an adorable mutt who saves his life. It will no doubt imbue Corenswet's portrayal with a more nuanced sense of fallibility compared to recent Superman iterations.
"He's not nearly the best dog as he seems," Gunn told reporters at the teaser premiere event in Los Angeles on Monday. "There's a lot more to Krypto than what you see in this trailer."
2. Superman is being positioned as public enemy number one
At least, we're assuming so. There's a shot where a dirted and visibly downcast Superman is walking away from a thronging and clearly angry crowd that is throwing objects at him.
We imagine this is part of the nefarious Lex Luthor's plan to discredit the Man of Steel. (Said villain is played here by Nosferatu's Nicholas Hoult.) What better way to destroy an invulnerable Kryptonian than by turning humans, those he's been destined to save, against him?
This is offset by scenes of Superman saving a young boy in the fictional town of Boravia (we learn the name via a quick shot of a TV newscast). Maybe Superman has been framed for some sort of political and economic calamity?
Boravia is an important location in the Superman comics. It's a fictional European country whose citizens have been saved by Superman many times. It remains to be seen what Gunn will do with it.
3. Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and others flesh out the backdrop
Nathan Fillion's Green Lantern/Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced's Hawkgirl and Edi Gathegi's Michael Holt, a.k.a. Mister Terrific all turn up in the trailer.
The context is unclear, but we imagine they're being set up for future DC Universe movies. Gardner is a member of the Green Lantern Corps so his presence will presumably set up future appearances from his fellow team members.
Gardner was also a part of the Justice League and if we're imagining that the DC Universe will reboot that stalled big-screen property, then this would be a good place to start.
4. Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane brings Superman back down to Earth
"Today, we're living in a world where print journalism, to some perhaps, is an endangered art form," Brosnahan says of her Lois Lane. "And she is someone who has dedicated her entire life to it."
As ever, Daily Planet journo Lois is the all-important counterweight to Superman, representing the best of humanity that he is endeavouring to redeem. Also, the new Superman movie has seemingly done a better-than-average job of distinguishing the chiseled Superman from his dorky Clark Kent alter-ego.
5. The presence of Luthorcorp suggests Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor is haunted by his parentage
There's a brief shot of the Luthorcorp sign, this being the business that belongs to Lex Luthor's father, Lionel. We imagine that this iteration of Lex, not unlike Superman, has daddy issues an is struggling to emerge from his parent's shadow. Are we reading too much into it, or will James Gunn's movie be underpinned by domestic discord?
Either way, the shaven-headed Nicholas Hoult looks suitably glowering and threatening in the few moments that he appears. Hoult says: "This Lex is obviously smart and ruthless, and he has to outmaneuver Superman on certain levels because he can't match him on others.
"There's also something about this character, hopefully from my standpoint, where even though you perhaps don't agree with his process, there's an element where you can understand on some levels where he's coming from and why perhaps what he's pushing as his ideology is perhaps better for humanity."
Superman is released on July 11th, 2025. In the meantime, check out the rest of the upcoming comic book movies in 2025.
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