James Gunn’s Superman might ostensibly be about introducing moviegoers to a brand new model of the Man of Steel, but it surely’s additionally an ensemble superhero film. Case in level – the brand new trailer is crammed filled with acquainted faces from the DC Universe, each good and evil. This film is ready in a world the place Superman and his fellow heroes have already been energetic for just a few years, and it takes full benefit of that truth.
Don’t fear in the event you’re not acquainted with each DC character on this early footage. We’re right here to interrupt down all the most important gamers and what the trailer reveals about their respective roles within the first live-action DCU film.
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor
Despite being undoubtedly a very powerful Superman villain of all of them, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor seems surprisingly little on this trailer. We solely see a pair fast pictures of Lex right here, together with one the place he’s holding a gun and apparently having a really emotional response to a crowd displaying its love for the Man of Steel.
Despite his minimal presence within the trailer, all indicators level to Luthor being the primary villain of the film. Gunn beforehand advised IGN that Lex and Superman know one another by repute solely, and this movie marks the primary time Lex actively clashes with Superman.
Gunn additionally revealed that this model of Lex is closely impressed by the one seen within the comedian All-Star Superman, telling reporters, “Lex is mostly a kind of sorcerer in a means. He’s a scientist, however he is so good at science and I consider him as like a sorcerer.”
He could also be a science sorcerer, however this Lex Luthor additionally guarantees to be extra three-dimensional and sympathetic than previous cinematic incarnations. Hoult revealed as a lot throughout a roundtable interview on the Superman trailer premiere.
“This Lex, I imply clearly he is good and ruthless and he has to outmaneuver Superman on sure ranges as a result of he cannot match him in others. But there’s additionally one thing about this character… the place regardless that you maybe do not agree together with his course of, there’s a component the place you’ll be able to perceive on some ranges the place he is coming from and what he is pushing as his ideology is probably higher for humanity.”
Krypto and the Silver Age Influence
One of the largest surprises surrounding Gunn’s Superman up to now has been the reveal that Superman’s devoted canine Krypto is showing, a primary for a live-action Superman film. We see Krypto being an excellent boy within the trailer, coming to his grasp’s assist in his time of want. Despite that, Gunn has teased that Krypto received’t all the time be so well-behaved, with the character’s feisty persona being impressed by a canine Gunn himself adopted throughout filming.
Gunn advised reporters on the trailer reveal occasion, “[Superman’s] relationship with Krypto is difficult. He’s not practically the very best canine you’ve got seen. There’s much more of Krypto than you see on this trailer. But yeah, I additionally thought that it was a approach to say that, sure we’re embracing all the Superman mythology.”
In the comics, there have been just a few completely different variations of Krypto over time. But the gist is that he’s a canine from Krypton who undergoes the identical huge energy enhance as Clark as soon as he arrives on Earth.
Krypto’s inclusion within the movie is without doubt one of the clearest indicators that Gunn’s Superman is extra closely impressed by DC’s Silver Age comics than its predecessors. For these not acquainted with the time period, the Silver Age describes a interval within the comedian trade from the ‘50s and ‘60s. It denotes a extra lighthearted tone and a heavier emphasis on science fiction components. In the Silver Age Superman comics, Superman was usually battling big monsters somewhat than conventional supervillains, whereas barely a difficulty would go by with out Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen present process some weird transformation. The Silver Age can be when readers had been launched to Superman’s prolonged household, together with Supergirl, Krypto, and different members of the Super-Pet menagerie.
We can see the Silver Age affect in different scenes within the trailer, with a number of pictures displaying Supes battling big monsters that Gunn calls kaiju. Clearly, the objective is to seize the larger-than-life high quality of these basic Superman comics, even when the tone seems to be to be extra dramatic.
Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific
Edi Gathegi performs Mister Terrific, the one character within the film with the scientific genius to rival Lex Luthor. Mister Terrific is a superb inventor and Olympic-level athlete, each of which mix to make him a pure superhero. He wears a trademark T-shaped masks on his face that permits him to detect power signatures, and he additionally has a collection of floating robotic orbs known as T-Spheres that he can management at will.
According to Gunn, Mister Terrific is a very powerful of the varied supporting heroes within the movie.
“I like Mister Terrific. These characters all get their second within the solar. They all have their moments. They’re not simply cameos, these are the characters. They’re supporting forged, however Mister Terrific is the primary character of these characters. He really has an enormous a part of the plot.”
Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl
Alien: Romulus’ Isabela Merced performs Hawkgirl, a winged, mace-wielding heroine who serves within the DCU model of the Justice League. We don’t know which model of Hawkgirl Merced is enjoying particularly, as there have been a variety of them over time. Hawkgirl and her companion Hawkman are among the many most convoluted heroes within the DC Universe, owing to the truth that they continuously die and are resurrected in new kinds. We suspect Gunn goes to tiptoe round that back-story in his film and give attention to Hawkgirl because the highly effective bruiser of the Justice League, a lot as she was within the animated collection.
Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner
Firefly’s Nathan Fillion is enjoying Green Lantern within the film, or a Green Lantern, anyway. Fillion is particularly enjoying Guy Gardner, a brash, tough-talking, blue collar different to extra acquainted Lanterns like Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
Guy’s inclusion within the movie is an indication of simply how a lot Gunn is drawing from the basic ‘80s collection Justice League International for his tackle the Justice League. We’re assuming that, like within the comedian, the League in Superman is financed by enterprise tycoon Maxwell Lord (who’s performed by Guardians of the Galaxy’s Sean Gunn). Guy is the resident Green Lantern. He’s a hero who doesn’t all the time get alongside together with his friends, however he’s very useful to have in a struggle.
It’ll be fascinating to see how Guy’s function in Superman may hook up with the upcoming Lanterns collection on Max. We know that the present stars Kyle Chandler as Hal and Aaron Pierre as John, and offers with an Earth-based homicide thriller. Gunn has been clear he’s not centered on establishing future initiatives on this film, however we wouldn’t be shocked if there’s no less than some kind of nod to the bigger Green Lantern Corps right here.
Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho
The trailer features a fast glimpse of Metamorpho, performed by Barry’s Anthony Carrigan. Metamorpho was as soon as an adventurer named Rex Mason who was employed by his employer Simon Stagg to discover a mystical artifact often called the Orb of Ra. After Stagg makes an attempt to kill Mason, Mason is uncovered to a radioactive meteorite and reworked. He good points the flexibility to vary his physique into completely different periodic components, although he additionally good points the monstrous look we see within the trailer.
Metamorpho is nothing if not a tragic character, doomed to be shunned by well mannered society at the same time as he routinely defends the world together with his powers. He’s good for Gunn’s sensibilities, in different phrases. We don’t know if Metamorpho can be a member of the Justice League within the movie, but it surely’s a secure wager he’ll be an ally to Superman.
Kelex
One shot within the trailer exhibits a grieving Superman cradling a blue robotic. We can solely assume that robotic is Kelex, regardless of the colour change. Kelex is a relic of Krypton and the first caretaker of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. The trailer means that a variety of the motion within the movie can be going down on the Fortress, and it appears Kelex can be broken or destroyed within the chaos. As one of many solely tangible hyperlinks to Superman’s previous on Krypton, we will perceive why Kelex’s dying may upset him a little bit.
David Corenswet as Superman
At this level, David Corenswet’s Superman in all probability wants no introduction. He’s clearly the star of the film, and the primary actual linchpin of Gunn’s DCU. We see loads of each Superman and Clark Kent on this trailer, with the Man of Steel clearly on the ropes whereas preventing a bodily stronger opponent. Is this one of many many kaiju we see within the trailer? Whatever’s occurring right here, the trailer exhibits us that the film goals to discover all sides of this deceptively easy superhero.
To Gunn, it’s reductive to boil down Superman and Clark to at least one or the opposite. It’s the intersection between the 2 the place the actual particular person exists, even when solely a handful of individuals on this planet actually know either side of him.
“It’s not simply Clark. It’s not simply Superman,” says the director. “It’s Clark/Superman. And the one people who know Clark/Superman are his mother and his dad and some others who know who he’s, and people are very various things. People stated all types of various issues. They stated, ‘Clark’s the actual one.’ They stated, ‘Superman’s the actual one and Clark’s the key id.’ But I do not – and it says it in my script on the second web page – I do not consider both of these issues. I do not assume anyone is aware of Superman until they know each of him. And once they know each of him, they know the actual man. And meaning not too many individuals.”
Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane
Anchoring the movie alongside Corenswet’s Superman is Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane. As all the time, Superman can be joined in his struggle for reality, justice, and a greater tomorrow by probably the most intrepid reporter in Metropolis.
At the trailer premiere occasion, Brosnahan advised reporters, “I’ve all the time been impressed by this character. She’s any person who’s formidable and brave and hungry and decided to get the best story nearly at any value. I’ve all the time beloved [her] and was so excited by the chance to convey all of these issues which have been true of her in each iteration… She evolves to suit what it could imply to be an intricate journalist of every technology or every decade that she’s introduced in.”
Gunn and the forged are preserving understandably mum on whether or not Lois certainly is aware of Superman’s secret but within the DCU. But Brosnahan makes one factor clear. The two characters are portrayed as “soulmates,” even when they go about their shared enterprise in wildly other ways.
“They’re shut, they’ve been shut, no less than [at] that second. But what I like about their relationship, by way of each iteration of the comedian books and all of the movies and tv collection is that they are soulmates. They’re united in the truth that they’re each in relentless pursuit of reality and justice, however they strategy the world in completely other ways. She’s any person who, due to her occupation, but in addition due to who she is, she questions all the things, she questions everybody, she’s making an attempt to see round each nook, and that is the best way that she faces the world.”
“And Superman… is simply radically current in each second. He solves each problem that is instantly in entrance of him. And I believe the ways in which they’re reverse is one thing that’s enjoyable to look at. It’s enjoyable to look at them sort of bump up towards one another typically in additional methods than one. And then it is enjoyable to look at the methods wherein they are surely united… They each work exhausting and play exhausting and love exhausting.”
The thriller of simply how effectively Lois is aware of Superman and Clark Kent is considered one of many we’ll see explored when Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025. Which DC hero are you most excited to see within the new film? Cast your vote in our ballot and tell us down within the feedback.
For extra on Superman, discover out why Gunn is “giving up all the things in my life and soul” to make the reboot, and brush up on each upcoming DC film and collection.
Jesse is a mild-mannered employees author for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your mental thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
