James Gunn Brings Fresh Vision to Superman: Here’s Everything We Saw in the Trailer

DC Studios has officially moved to a new day and age with their reboot of one of the most well-known superheroes of all time: Superman. Writer-director James Gunn’s take on the character will be coming out later this July, but with months of content leading up to it, the release of the first full trailer is more than enough for fans to become stoked about Superman.

It was released earlier this week, and we have all that you need to know in one convenient place.

Welcome to a New Krypton

We begin with a metaphorical door: Superman as we’ve known it is ending, and this is a new take. This isn’t your daddy’s Superman. Gunn has addressed that this film will not be an origin story of the typical sort, which makes a lot of thematic sense for the first installment of what will be this new era of the character.

Superman is about Clark Kent’s journey of finding where he belongs; what do Kryptonian royalty have to do with a kid from Kansas? Gunn’s Superman will show Clark Kent dealing with his inner conflict about both sides of who he is and trying to take it all in stride. He is the same old Superman but also a reimagined one for a modern audience, and in this fresh reboot, he will get a chance at an emotional, grounded origin.

We already have a lot of information on some of the characters, and this trailer gives us even more that helps set it all up. The lead, David Corenswet (Pearl, Hollywood), is a 25-year-old who is no longer the wide-eyed young man from Smallville. He is more confident and polished as he juggles his new dual identity of both Clark Kent and Superman.

Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) stars as Lois Lane. Lois is feisty, in-your-face, and somewhat of a brat, but fans know and love her for it. The opening scene of the trailer has Lois running through a fake interview (directed at “Superman” with Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner off to the side) and she hits hard on Clark in his double identity. She interviews Superman; he interviews Lois. Clark has put on a smiley face in the reporter department, but Brosnahan and Corenswet feed off of each other in a fun flirtation/shippability way. It’s fun to watch them tease each other in banter back and forth, but the main question is whether or not Lois already knows Superman’s identity. Fans seem to be torn on that, with an edit of the scene circulating that seems to indicate she knows but can’t prove it. But the trailer seems to give other indicators of Lois being in the dark with her facial expressions at certain points throughout. Regardless, the relationship between Lois and Clark is clearly at the center of this story, as Brosnahan’s Lois will be a major presence in the movie.

Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class, Deadpool) joins the cast as Lex Luthor. He is immediately recognizable by fans from the teaser of him fiddling with an app on his computer and giving us his signature villainous face, while showing his hands are as green as his tie and LuthorCorp. Lex has some help from new faces, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, and Terence Rosemore as Otis.

One of the hidden gems of this trailer and an unexpected star is the titular hero’s loyal white dog, Krypto. Krypto was briefly shown back in the teaser last December that was dropped during San Diego Comic-Con 2023, but this trailer shows off the superdog in all his glory. In the brief trailer, we see him as Superman is gravely injured in action. Krypto drags his adopted owner to the Fortress of Solitude so Superman can recover from his injuries and the power of Kryptonite. The Superman trailer ramps up the superdog moments by showing him paw-to-toe with Lex Luthor himself, but there is also the inevitable fight with the high-tech villain Angela Spica, a.k.a. The Engineer, played by Maria Gabriela de Faria. Spica is seen in black spandex with mechanical, rotating blades around her arms (nanotechnology?). Krypto proves his worth when he nearly gets the better of the villainous and martially trained Spica (don’t underestimate Maria Gabriela de Faria) and the full-on attack on the Fortress.

The action isn’t the only thing the trailer is jam-packed with. Other than a few short flashes and CGI-monster mayhem, fans also get their first look at an ensemble of other, lesser-known DC characters:

• Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner, a Green Lantern with a signature bowl cut. We even get to see the Galatarian Chief Legion of Space in this Superman trailer.
• Anthony Carrigan (The Boondocks, Get Shorty) plays Rex Mason/Metamorpho, an elemental shapeshifter and a former field operative for a shadowy international agency.
• Isabela Merced plays the winged warrior Hawkgirl.
• Edi Gathegi (Nomadland, Extraction) is Michael Holt/Mister Terrific, a super-brain inventor gone superhero.
• Milly Alcock also joins the cast as Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Supergirl. It seems possible that a larger Kryptonian family story is hinted at for later phases.
• Pruitt Taylor Vince (Trial by Jury, Miss Behave) and Neva Howell play Jonathan and Martha Kent respectively. The trailer very much reinforces the relationship that Clark has with his earthbound parents.
• Frank Grillo reprises his role from the animated series Creature Commandos as Rick Flag Sr. Sean Gunn also appears in the film as Maxwell Lord.

Striking the Perfect Balance

Superman flies through the trailer doing what Superman does best. He leaps off of rooftops, bullies Luthor on what his Kryptonite has done to the economy, and flies off to the Kryptonian homeworld for a galaxy-bending showdown.

But while the action and set pieces are what we expect from Superman, Gunn seems to be hitting the nail on the head with the lighter emotional moments and the balance between his heroism and humanity. There is a clear conflict shown with Lois making Clark question his choices and intentions. In the trailer, Lois is questioning him on what Superman’s job means to those who are in power and if the people he’s “saving” even know it. His exasperated response is enough for many audiences who just want him to stop saving people because, as Superman tearfully says, “People were going to die!” In response, Lois quickly points out that it’s not always like that, as she says people “died anyway” and references news of a devastating forest fire. Lois is a layered character with humor, but the director, too, seems to understand that not everything in life is comedic; there are times when you just need to sit on your bed.

In a final shot of the trailer, Superman is seen on his bed and is visibly at ease and not on edge. It’s not just Superman who is at peace and happy with the job he’s done—his dog is too, resting on his chest. He’s right by Clark’s side through everything, even at the expense of his health. It’s a small moment in a big trailer, but if this is the tone Gunn sets in his film, it’s an emotional one sure to be an action-fantasy epic built on a foundation of connection.