The first trailer for James Gunn’s Superman is here and, wow. It’s a lot. There’s not much in the way of talking but the two minute-plus trailer is robust in terms of tone, character, and setting. Below, we break down who’s who, what’s what, speculate, and see what little teases Gunn has in store along the way. Here’s our breakdown of the first trailer for Superman.
The trailer starts in a snowy field when an object flies in from the sky and crashes into the ground. This is Superman (David Corenswet) and he’s messed up. Breathing heavy, bloodied, this is not what we’re used to seeing from the character. He’s basically indestructible, is he not? How did this happen?
Now, if you read our report from the set of the film, Gunn said that Superman starts in the middle of a massive battle. Then, io9 spoke to Gunn at a recent event where he confirmed these scenes are from the very beginning of the movie. That’s quite the twist, is it not? This isn’t him being beaten up in the climax of the film. It’s where everything starts.
Busted-up Superman is intercut with scenes of his alter ego, Clark Kent, entering the Daily Planet. Again, from our set report we know this exterior was filmed in Cleveland, Ohio, the birthplace of Superman. But in this film, as you can see from the plaque, it’s Metropolis.
Upstairs at the Daily Planet, we meet Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and also get a glimpse of Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo). On screen, you see Annalisa Cochrane (Cobra Kai) though it’s unclear if she’s a news anchor or an actress on TV. Either way, it’s a bustling newsroom.
After a few close-ups of Lois and Clark, which show more of a friendship than anything else, the trailer moves to the Kent farm, which has cows roaming in the front yard. There we see Clark with his Earth father, Jonathan (Pruitt Taylor Vince). What’s interesting about this shot is that Clark doesn’t have the glasses. He looks more like he does as Superman. Maybe this speaks to the true Clark/Superman that only a few people know, like his parents.
All this still is intercutting with Superman bloodied in the snow. Back there he whistles, and a figure runs through the powder. It’s Krypto, Superman’s dog! First introduced in 1955 as a companion of Superboy, and originally conceived as a one-off character by creators Otto Binder and Curt Swan, Krypto’s immediate popularity saw him become a staple of Superman’s adventures ever since, and helped inspire a legion of super-pets in his wake.
“Krypto. Home,” Superman says. “Take me home.” So he gives Krypto a sniff of his cape and off the two go. Also, by the way, where did Krypto get his cape? Does his origin fit into this? We don’t know.
And, again, all this stuff with Krypto and Superman in the snow is from the BEGINNING of the movie. What could’ve gotten Superman so badly?
Here’s where things kick into high gear. First, we see Superman save a girl from some kind of explosion of gas tanks. The explosion comes during a massive kaiju battle. You can see the monster’s foot in the back here, and in full form later. We think, but are just speculating, that this fight might be the one that starts the movie and beats him up so badly.
The next several shots focus on Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). First, he sees Superman whiz by and turns around while rocking an earpiece. That cuts to this image of Lex’s building and company in the film, Luthorcorp. You can see him as a tiny speck on the bridge below the first “R.”
This next shot is curious. It’s Lex, again, who seems interested and even confused by a seemingly normal-looking revolver. We know from our chat with Gunn that Lex is a master of technology in this movie. So much so he’s basically a “sorcerer.” Why is he so perplexed and fascinated by a gun that would fit in an old Western? Kryptonite bullets possibly?
That’s followed by Superman punching out of some kind of glass enclosure. It looks like it’s part of a larger building and, juxtaposed after several shots of Lex and Luthorcorp, the assumption is it’s something inside that building. Plus, at the VERY beginning of the shot, you see there are other people around him. Fellow prisoners? We don’t know.
From there, the trailer cuts to a foreign country where war is being waged. A young man heroically lifts a flag with Superman’s symbol on it and prays for Superman to come and save him. Later in the trailer, it’s revealed this is a border war in Boravia, a fictional country in the DC universe. Boravia is also a classic Siegel-Schuster creation, having first appeared in the second issue of Superman in 1939, almost always defined by being in a state of perpetual internal conflict. How it fits into the story we don’t know, but it does speak to Superman being a global hero in this DC Universe. He’s not just saving people in Metropolis. It’s everywhere.
Maybe the people of Metropolis are angry at Superman for saving people around the world, though, because the next section of the trailer focuses on angry mobs letting Superman have it. They’re throwing things. Screaming at him. And he’s taking it. Plus, you can see that his suit has been considerably dirtied up. He’s been in quite a battle.
People are pissed! And it’s weird that Superman would be able to find refuge in this lobby, is it not? Unless it was somewhere friendly.
This is the lobby of Stagg Industries, another reference to DC Comics. In the comics, its owner Simon Stagg is the one behind Rex Mason’s transformation into the character of Metamorpho, who we’ll soon see in the trailer. Whether or not that’s still the case here, is unclear.
So we have dejected Superman, standing the lobby of Stagg, who is then joined by several heroes. The first is Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion). One of several humans to have become a member of the Green Lantern Corps, Guy—and his infamous haircut—first appeared in the late ’60s as the “backup” Lantern of Sector 2814 to Hal Jordan. We know Guy will also make an appearance in the Lanterns TV series, set to feature two of the other most famous human Green Lanterns: Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
And, you can see in that shot he’d joined by Hawkgirl, played by Madame Web‘s own Isabela Merced. You can briefly get a glimpse of Mister Terrific in a quick shot too, but more on him later. The trailer gives Hawkgirl a nice hero shot through. Hawkgirl has had many different iterations in the comics over the years, so we’re not quite sure which version of her we’re getting here.
We then see a much better shot of the mystery kaiju Superman was fighting and saving that girl from. Looks pretty scary.
After a shot of Superman floating in that fire, things get even steamier. First up, we get this shot of Superman and Lois. And I say “Superman” specifically because you can track how Lois treats Superman one way and Clark the other.
There’s something there, but they are just getting close. Nothing more. Also—it’s that weird ball of energy that was in the first promo shot of the film. We still have no idea what that is but we think it might be from near the end of the movie.
Okay, so that’s Lois and Superman. Here’s Lois and Clark.
And they’re fully making out. So are Clark and Lois dating but she doesn’t know he’s Superman? I mean, come on. You’re a smart woman, Lois! He sure looks like Superman, does he not? Gunn did say their relationship in the film is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in a superhero movie so, surely there’s more to it than that. Moving along, this is a fascinating one.
Here we see Superman sad about the death of a robot. It also appears this takes place in the Fortress of Solitude, which hasn’t been featured at all in this trailer so far. (The next shot after this, however, is the Fortress coming out of the ground so—yes, it’s in there.)
It’s unclear who the robot is though and some have speculated it’s Kelex, a Kryptonian service robot who once served Jor-El before surviving the destruction of Krypton and becoming the caretake of the Fortress. If it’s not Kelex, the cape and the general Superman-esque color scheme on the robot could be a nod to one of the film’s major comics inspirations, All-Star Superman, which saw a whole host of robotic Supermen assist Clark in maintaining the Fortress of Solitude.
That’s then followed by our first look at Metamorpho played by Barry’s Anthony Carrigan. Again, Metamorpho was created by Stagg in the comics, after he sent Rex Mason to go investigate the mysterious radioactive meteorite known as the Orb of Ra, knowing the object could irrevocably transform Rex after he caught him in a relationship with his daughter, Sapphire.
Okay, now things really kick into high gear with lots of very quick cuts. First up, buildings toppling over like dominos. Possibly from the kaiju fight? Either way, a very cool image. And maybe I’m seeing things but does the top of that last building look a little green to you?
Lex Luthor is PISSED. And injured. And not in his Luthorcorp building, it seems, because it looks more gold than silver.
There’s a lot going on in this next image so check it out and then we’ll break it down.
First of all, whoever is watching this (unclear) owns a Luthorcorp TV (interesting). Again, we’re seeing more footage from the conflict glimpsed earlier, properly confirmed as Boravia here. Which, from earlier in the trailer, we know is hoping for Superman’s help. In fact, it might even be the same kid. Also, the channel is GBS News. The “G” in there isn’t an “M” so it’s probably not Metropolis. Someone might be watching this from Gotham City.
We next see Superman trying to hold up a building, Krypto dragging him in the snow (both from scenes earlier in the trailer), and then someone, we think Metamorpho, smashing a wall. That’s followed by a battle in a baseball stadium (which Major League Baseball confirmed was shot in the Cleveland Guardians stadium).
Earlier in the trailer it doesn’t look like Metamorpho is wearing a suit but, clearly, this person is. Is it Metamorpho? He could certainly be a challenge for Superman. Or is it someone else? Someone in a suit Lex has developed perhaps? Either way, the grounds crew for the Metropolis Meteors is gonna have a hell of a cleanup.
Finally, we get our best glimpse yet at Mister Terrific, played by For All Mankind‘s Edi Gathegi.
Mister Terrific—this is more clearly the Michael Holt version of the character, introduced back in 1997, frequently a prominent member of the Justice Society of America—is one of Gunn’s favorite characters, which is why he’s in the movie. Gunn also revealed he’s the leader of this group of heroes that’ll be beside Superman in the movie. The shot continues to reveal more about him.
Mister Terrific doesn’t have powers beyond his own high technical skill and smarts, which he has used to develop tech to help him be a hero, mainly, his T-Spheres, which you see here. It seems also as if, in context of the movie, Mister Terrific is protecting Lois Lane from gunfire (maybe on assignment in Boravia?) with Jimmy Olsen (kneeling right) in tow. Why are these people shooting at a journalist? Where is Superman?
There’s Superman. And he’s kissing Lois in mid-air. Before, we saw her kissing Clark so we’re guessing this is from later in the movie when she realizes the two are one. A gorgeous shot though, in some sort of old building that certainly fits in with the kind of classic architecture we’ve seen in Metropolis elsewhere in the film. And just like that…
Superman flies off. But not before the two stars share a warm embrace (with that weird sky thing still looming in the background).
Now, throughout this whole trailer, there have also been title cards. Let’s recap those for a second.
“From James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, this summer, it begins.” That’s followed by a ton of footage and then the release date, July 11. Finally, this.
That’s where the title of the movie should go, not the studio logo. But we never are explicitly told this is Superman. This is DC Studios.
A few things here. First, Superman is the first film in the new DC Universe, and the kick-off of what DC Studios has to offer. So this trailer isn’t just for Superman, it’s for the entire studio and universe. We asked Gunn about the decision. “It just felt good,” he said. “We had made these trailers and they did all this testing and I was like… I believe in testing. I believe in the testing process, and we’ve already tested Superman. But it’s also like, you have to go with your gut and what feels right … [and it] seems like it worked.”
Gunn also told us that the Engineer, another key DC Comics character who is in the movie, IS in this trailer. We didn’t spot her, but maybe you can?
And finally, Gunn added that this trailer was specifically crafted to evoke the emotions of the movie. “There was only one thing that was on the forefront of my mind [and] that was the trailer has to be an authentic representation of what the film is,” Gunn said. “It doesn’t have to have every single element that’s in the film, obviously, but it has to show what is the basic essence of the movie and the story we’re telling. And I think that it does that.”
If the movie is as good as this trailer, we’re in for a treat. Superman opens July 11.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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