Clark Kent Meets Lois Lane in DC’s First Superman Trailer

DC Studios is boldly going where no superhero franchise has gone before with this month’s release of Superman, a rebooted take on the DC Comics hero, penned and directed by writer-director James Gunn. Months of speculation have gone into the film leading up to its July release, but now that the first full trailer has dropped, moviegoers have more than enough reason to be excited about the summer superhero blockbuster. Dropping the reboot’s new Clark Kent alongside a new feisty Lois Lane and big screen debuts for DC’s most powerful heroes and infamous villains, as well as one furball-worthy superdog, the trailer introduces a fresh, grounded reboot.

Not an Origin Story

One of the first announcements about Gunn’s Superman was that the movie wouldn’t be a by-the-numbers origin story for Clark Kent, and if anything, the trailer is proof positive that the writer-director wasn’t kidding. As for the film itself, Superman is built around the emotional arc of our titular hero, who is attempting to find a middle ground between his royal Kryptonian heritage and Kansas-born roots. It’s an interesting thematic element that gives the movie its weighty emotional undertones as Clark Kent struggles to find his place in the world.

Likewise, Gunn is sticking with a 25-year-old Clark Kent. Portrayed by David Corenswet (Pearl, Hollywood), Superman is not the green and wide-eyed version of the character we’re used to from years past, but an older, more mature version of the superhero who has been operating in the public eye for several years. This is to say, a lot of the story hinges on Superman himself and Corenswet’s portrayal of Kent/Superman himself, which is arguably true of most superhero flicks, but the trailers give us some small insights into this, most notably through the protagonist’s relationships with Lois Lane.

Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) stars as the renowned DC character Lois Lane. The film’s trailer opens in medias res as we first see Lois Lane running away in a teaser trailer for a mock interview she’s partaking in. Except, the “Superman” she’s interviewing is Clark Kent, Superman. The two seem to have some level of flirtation and one-upsmanship going on, but whether or not Lois has figured out Clark Kent’s superhero alter ego remains to be seen. Some fans are sure Lois already knows. Others, this writer included, think the opposite is more likely if one takes note of the actors’ body language and expressions. Either way, we know for sure that Lois and Clark’s relationship will take center stage in Gunn’s Superman.

Nicholas Hoult (Last Night in Soho, Mad Max: Fury Road) also has a significant part in Gunn’s film as DC’s most well-known villain, Lex Luthor. As teased in the trailer, he brings his expected brand of oversized villainy and corporate evil, but he’s by no means alone. Sara Sampaio (This Little Love Of Mine) plays Eve Teschmacher, and Terence Rosemore (Terminator: Dark Fate) plays Otis, Luthor’s two right-hand, morally malleable minions.

Krypto, Kaiju, and a Booming DCU

This might sound silly, but one breakout character in the trailer is Superman’s white canine sidekick, Krypto. Fans first got a taste of the adorable white dog in a cinematic superhero blockbuster last December when Gunn dropped the film’s teaser trailer. Krypto first appeared near the end of the teaser as a photorealistically rendered white dog that drags a painfully injured Superman back to the Fortress of Solitude in an act of animal heroism not often seen onscreen. Gunn’s Superman trailer goes big on Krypto, showcasing the four-legged hero taking on both Lex Luthor himself and the high-tech LexCorp villain Angela Spica, also known as The Engineer, played by Maria Gabriela de Faria. Spica is clad in black spandex and has deadly rotating blades extending from her arms thanks to nanotechnology. She also leads a full-scale kaiju-led assault on the Fortress.

Speaking of kaiju, the trailer isn’t exactly short on that department either. In between the swashbuckling, team-ups, and gut-wrenching fight scenes, fans also get a first look at an impressive stable of lesser-known yet still compelling DC characters. Nathan Fillion (MacGruber) stars as Guy Gardner, a green lantern wearing his hair in a popular bowl cut, Anthony Carrigan (Billions, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) plays Rex Mason, also known as Metamorpho, a superhero who can transform his body to manipulate different elements, Isabela Merced (Encanto, Teen Spy) stars as the kryptonian winged warrior Hawkgirl, and Edi Gathegi (Grit) plays Michael Holt/Mister Terrific, a superhero with a Ph.D. in physics.

Fans also get to see a first look at Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El a.k.a. Supergirl. Portrayed by Milly Alcock, Supergirl’s presence in the film teases a larger Kryptonian family arc. Pruitt Taylor Vince (Lost, Breaking Bad) and Neva Howell (The Purge) also round out the cast as Clark Kent’s adopted Earth parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent.

Fans of DC’s recent animated series Creature Commandos will also get a familiar face in Gunn’s Superman as Frank Grillo reprises his role from the animated series as Rick Flag Sr., and fellow Marvel co-star Sean Gunn makes an appearance as Maxwell Lord.

Strike the Right Balance

Action and fight scenes come and go, but what Gunn has done with the Superman trailer is a good job of playing with some of the lighter elements of heroism to balance out some of the blockbuster material. A key scene early in the trailer has Lois interrogating Superman over some of his heroics and the potential response from public figures like the United States Secretary of Defense. Superman’s response, “People were going to die!” is a tone-setting moment that might foreshadow much of the film itself, where he has to navigate his moral compass and the public’s perception of it.

It’s also very effective as we then see Superman fly by a Times Square public display advertising his heroism, projected on screen in front of an exploding hunk of rock and his classic cape billowing out behind him. It’s an exhilarating sight, and we get more in the same vein as the trailer shows Superman both on a rooftop and a world-ending, all-cosmic-level disaster. But perhaps the most notable moment, both action and character-wise, is the trailer’s closing moments. Superman is at his own home, lying on his bed with a heavy look on his face, seemingly basking in the first moment of peace he’s had in a while. Lying on Superman’s chest as our hero takes it all in is a bedraggled but wholly content Krypto, the film’s four-legged superhero. It’s a simple moment, but one that speaks volumes about the film itself and the emotional tenor Gunn is going for. In short, a big-budget hero blockbuster built on an emotional core.

With Gunn’s pedigree, an ensemble cast chock-full of both bigger-name and emerging talent, a modern tone, and more than enough heart, Superman is looking to be more than just a reboot—it’s a reset. For Gunn’s DC Universe, and by all signs, it’s a much-needed one.