James Gunn’s Superman Trailer Reveals Krypto The Superdog

The trailer for James Gunn’s Superman movie is finally out.and people who were looking for a breath of fresh air after the DC Extended Universe version of the character are no doubt happy to see that David Carensuet’s Superman builds on the “big blue boy scout” heart aspect of Man of Steel. However, he is not the only super-powered figure we see. In fact, the central part of the trailer is nothing more Super dog Krypt, inspired by the real dog Anna.

Gunn has already revealed Krypt’s presence in the film, but the trailer shows just how impressive the character is. We see an injured Superman whistling for help, and Krypto arrives on the scene with perhaps the most dynamic canine exit in movie history. First, all we see is a huge, rapidly approaching snow cloud. Then a white shaggy dog ​​appears, flying to the rescue — complete with its own cape, no less. Krypto is officially here and it’s awesome. Even before the trailer, Superman” has already become one of the most anticipated films of 2025. It is now virtually guaranteed that cryptomania is about to take over the world.

Krypto is not the least known character in the DC universe. He appeared in 2022 animated film “League of DC Super-Pets” (where Dwayne Johnson voices the character) and also plays a role in the DC superhero show Titans. However, even the silliest live-action Superman films have so far avoided using him, so it’s time to take a crash course in the character before he hits the big screen. Who really is Krypt’s superdog?

Created by Otto Binder and Kurt Sven, Krypto entered the Superman mythos in 1955. His first appearance was in Adventure Comics #210, and he soon established himself as Kal-El’s loyal sidekick… sort of. Krypto begins as a pet that Superman’s father, Jor-El, sends into space Lyca-style to test the rocket technology to save children that will soon send a young Kal-El to Earth. Many years later, the poor puppy’s rocket finds its way to Earth and he is able to reunite with the teenage Kal-El, who at this point is called Superboy. It’s a pretty boring origin story, but at least Krypto gets rid of his Superman-style powers.

This Krypto is a little weird, to say the least. As a rule, this is an intelligent dog who can “talk” with thought bubbles and has various interesting, but fundamentally funny adventures both on Earth and in space. Like Superman, he maintains the civilian “identity” of a normal, powerless Earth being. However, he’s effectively sidelined in the grand scheme of things and kept to the level of a curiosity, a sidekick, despite the fact that his powers make him stronger than most of Earth’s heroes.

If I had to hazard a guess, this era was the reason filmmakers mostly avoided using Krypto. After all, Superman’s live-action history shows that the Man of Steel can already be a tough nut to crack. Add knowingly stupid a dog were thrown into the mix, and the director might suddenly start to worry that Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) might stop being the funniest Superman movie after they were done.

In the mid-1980s, the franchise-wide Crisis on Infinite Earths event rebooted the entire DC Comics universe, which in Krypto’s case meant a long hiatus. Instead of continuing his decades-long presence as an absurd but well-characterized figure, he was effectively erased from the universe. So Krypton’s best boy was absent for years until new versions of him started appearing in 2001.

One new Krypto was an ordinary dog. The other was an escaped creation of a supervillain trap universe. However, it wasn’t until 2011 when writer Grant Morrison and artists Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang introduced a new version of the heroic dog. This Krypto is a fairly ordinary dog ​​of the Al family from Krypton, and he makes a heroic sacrifice when the villains of the Phantom Zone try to attack them when Krypton is destroyed. Krypto battles the antagonists and ends up in the Phantom Zone with them. He lingers there, as it seems to him, for countless years.

Fortunately, the grown-up Superman is eventually temporarily trapped in the Phantom Zone and learns that the Kryptos still exist. After a touching rescue mission, they are finally reunited in the real world. This version of Krypto continues to hang out with various surviving Kryptonians on their adventures, and is effectively a regular loyal dog who just happens to have extraordinary superpowers.

Throughout his tenure as a superhero helmer, James Gunn has taken on characters that few directors would touch with a 10-foot pole. From the likable villains in his Guardians of the Galaxy movie trilogy to the slightly less likable DC villains in Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos, Gunn loves to embrace and elevate unsung characters. The crown jewel of his approach might be John Cena’s perpetually clueless Peacemaker, whose eponymous show gave the DC Extended Universe one of its few recent wins and proved so popular that Cena brought his helmet collection and bad attitude to bear. rebooted the DC Universe. Or maybe it’s Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), the cynical and deeply tragic heart of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

No matter which James Gunn superhero is your favorite – and there are plenty to choose from – Krypto is certainly awesome enough to match his modus operandi. Indeed, it seems that the DCU warden’s vision for the superdog is a far cry from the Moose archetype, regardless of what the rescue sequence in the trailer might indicate. /Film staffer Bill Brea attended the press event for the Superman trailer, where Gunn had this to say about the inclusion of Superman’s furriest friend in the trailer:

(Superman’s) relationship with Krypto is complicated. He is far from being the best dog he seems. There’s a lot more to Krypto than what you see in this trailer. But I also thought it was a way of saying yes, we’re embracing the whole Superman mythology.

Will Krypto be able to stand proudly in the ranks of the greatest unknown adaptations of Gunn’s characters, or will he end up lost in the movie fray? We’ll find out when Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025.