DC Just Dropped the Superman Trailer—And Fans Are Buzzing

DC Studios is dipping its toes in uncharted waters as it gears up for the release of Superman, a rebooted version of the comic book legend helmed by writer-director James Gunn. The film is set to hit the silver screen later this July, and months of speculation will soon give way to the wide release, but as it stands right now, there’s more than enough material to get fans hyped. The first full trailer for Superman has been released, and it’s here to dole out a roster of brand new heroes and baddies.

The trailer is set to an emotionally-charged voiceover, with Clark detailing his simultaneous Kryptonian royal heritage and his upbringing on a farm in the American Midwest. Gunn has already stated that this isn’t a typical Superman origin story, and it shows. The core throughline here appears to be the dissonance Clark feels between his blue-collar Kansas roots and the expectations of him as an aristocratic Kryptonian.

The Man of Steel

Portraying the titular role is Pearl and Hollywood star David Corenswet as the titular man from Krypton. This iteration of Superman appears to have some mileage on him, clocking in as a 25-year-old, significantly older than the naiveté-filled mud-stained baby bird familiar to most of the superhero’s previous films. His true identity as both Clark Kent and Superman appears to be the meat of the plot, and in particular, how he interacts with Lois Lane.

Playing Lois Lane is Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), who the trailer has made it a point to show as a no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners journalist. While the trailer opens with Lois running through a mock interview with “Superman” (played, of course, by David Corenswet’s Clark Kent), the cat-and-mouse (or should I say bat-and-Superman?) flirtation between the two ends in an ambiguous place. It’s unclear if Lois has cracked his secret identity, though some have been bold enough to say she’s almost certainly already aware. The jury’s still out from this writer. The actors’ facial reactions are a bit much in this final shot to put it past me, but that could just be me projecting. Regardless, the interplay between Lois and Clark is a major aspect of the film, and Brosnahan looks like she’s got some big shoes to fill from previous iterations.

Nicholas Hoult, star of X-Men: First Class, Warm Bodies, and Mad Max: Fury Road, also stars as the universally known evil genius Lex Luthor. Hoult teases a classic iteration of the DC supervillain, offering up his trademark dastardly business-suited vibes complete with unnerving smirks. The trailer also introduces Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher and Terence Rosemore as Otis, both of whom are Lex’s goons/indentured servants.

Krypto, Kaiju, and Others

Speaking of goons, there is one new cast member who’s been making quite the buzz online—and, no, it’s not Nicholas Hoult. The breakout star of the whole trailer might be Superman’s white dog, Krypto, who first made a splash back in December with the teaser release. In that trailer, fans got to see him drag a critically injured Superman to the Fortress of Solitude with his teeth, claws, and sheer hero dogginess. The first full trailer only doubles down on that, showing him take Lex Luthor and the villainous Angela Spica (Maria Gabriela de Faria) on paws and claws. Angela Spica (a.k.a The Engineer) is a high-tech villain dressed in black spandex and wielding nanotech-controlled blades that spin around menacingly on her arms and legs.

Epic battles, kaiju, and team-ups aplenty, but this isn’t all the trailer has to offer. Amidst the heroics, we get our first looks at a wide spectrum of lesser-known, but still cool, DC characters. Nathan Fillion (TV’s Firefly and The Rookie) shows up as the Green Lantern Guy Gardner, a mohawk-less but bowl-cut-sporting DC hero. Anthony Carrigan (TV’s Barry) plays Rex Mason, better known to fans as the human element-controlling shapeshifter Metamorpho. Isabela Merced (Godzilla vs. Kong, Vox Lux) is Hawkgirl, the human-lycanthrope hybrid who dons bird wings and a breastplate. Edi Gathegi (X-Men: Days of Future Past) takes on the role of Michael Holt, also known as Mister Terrific and, finally, Milly Alcock is Clark Kent’s cousin Kara Zor-El—a.k.a. Supergirl, played by cousin Kara Zor-El. While only making a fleeting appearance in this trailer, Alcock’s inclusion in the roster of characters suggests a much wider web of Kryptonian relatives and dynamics that could expand on that relationship in the future.

Throw in Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell as Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman’s adopted Kansas parents, and you’ve got an ensemble of talented actors, many reprising from DC’s comics source material, but several known for a variety of other roles as well. Frank Grillo reprises his animated Rick Flag Sr. role from Creature Commandos, while Sean Gunn (TV’s The Guild, Peterman) appears as Maxwell Lord.

Humanity vs. Heroics

The action is a little nonstop in this trailer, barreling from rooftop parkour to interstellar smackdowns. But while the heroics are top-notch, it’s the moments of humanity that the trailer also lands, especially regarding Clark and Lois’s dynamic. Lois makes it clear that Clark isn’t popular with the establishment, such as the Secretary of Defense. Clark vehemently retorts, “People were going to die!” It’s a call back to many of Clark’s previous quandaries in his heroism, especially as it relates to what’s best for the world. If nothing else, this is a perfect encapsulation of the balancing act that Superman the character is always going to have to do—balancing heart and humanity with his heroic tendencies.

Humor is also in the mix, even if it’s just in the end credits. The final frame of the trailer shows Superman lying peacefully on his bed. A groggy Clark is in a moment of uncharacteristic respite, while his trusty Krypto snoozes on his chest. It’s an amusing moment, but also one that shows the characters and the film itself are going to land on both a grandiose and personal register.

Stacked with a lot of talent, both old and new, DC hopes that Superman is more than just a reboot. The franchise itself has been primed for a reset, and while Gunn’s direction and story have so far been only teased out in a couple of trailers and some potential social media leaks, what’s visible thus far points to DC’s next big thing.