James Gunn’s Superman: Krypto Is the MVP of the New Trailer

DC Studios has a high-stakes future ahead of them, and a major part of that future begins this July with Superman. Gunn’s reboot of the DC staple has been steadily generating buzz for months now. The first official trailer for the July 14 release has been released, and it’s a doozy, giving fans everything they could want from this origin-free origin story, complete with a new Clark Kent, a no-nonsense Lois Lane, a team-up of DC heroes and villains, and one scene-stealing superdog.

A World, Not a Wonder

Superman will not be a traditional origin story, per Gunn, who instead reimagines the first solo adventure as a coming-of-age story of sorts, a question of internal, if not literal, identity. The film follows Clark Kent (David Corenswet) on his internal journey to self-acceptance, where he struggles to find a place to belong, between his heroic birthright as the last scion of the Kryptonian royal line and his bucolic, relatable Kansas childhood.

Corenswet, who most recently appeared in Pearl and Hollywood, is a 25-year-old Clark Kent, older, wiser, and more jaded than the older, more self-possessed version of Clark we got with Ben Affleck. Balancing Clark’s two identities as the mild-mannered reporter and the Man of Steel seems to be a big part of his character, as he also interacts with Lois Lane. Actress Rachel Brosnahan, known for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, appears as the super-smart, ultra-independent Lois Lane. The film opens with a reimagining of the journalistic powerhouse’s most famous “first meeting” with Superman.

Instead of a newsroom meeting or rooftop flirtation, the two are seen sharing a run, in which Lois is pretending to interview Superman. Played, of course, by Clark himself. The two begin in a flirtatious power struggle in which Lois playfully needles Clark over his alter ego, and what they could do as a couple. But it’s never confirmed that Lois has learned Superman’s identity, if she has, or if she has some vague idea. There are some strong arguments to be made that she does know the truth, right off the bat. For others like this writer, the shot of Brosnahan’s reaction to the reveal suggests a Lois Lane who is in the dark. A healthy mystery, either way, one that at least places the Lois-Clark relationship at the center of the film.

Lex Luthor, Hank, and the rest of the gang

A high-profile cast also arrives with Nicholas Hoult (Jennifer’s Body) as Lex Luthor, another twist on the famous supervillain whose machinations are a recurring threat to Superman in comics and on film. The trailer plays up his trademark megalomaniacal corporate evil, but Luthor won’t be alone. Sara Sampaio and Terence Rosemore both appear as Eve Teschmacher and Otis, two colorful sidekicks who make up Luthor’s “B-team.”

Finally, Krypto, Kaiju, and Krypton

Our first official look at a superhero’s best four-legged friend? Superman’s stalwart white dog. Fans got their first look at Krypto back in the teaser trailer from last December, and the full trailer from Gunn, who is known for his humanizing and myth-making spins on heroic characters, brings it home. The dog, who in this version appears to possess super strength and a natural sensitivity to Superman’s presence, drags a wounded Superman back to the Fortress of Solitude in last year’s teaser. The full trailer plays more up Krypto’s importance, in scenes of the dog going paw-to-paw against the nefarious Lex Luthor, and another super-powered baddie known as The Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria).

Angela Spica’s costume design, movements, and nanotech-powered blades recall one of Marvel’s best-known superheroes, but that’s only one major bit of gadgetry, action, and Kryptonian-family-saga-building detail in the clip. Between heart-stopping action set pieces, kaiju cameos, a much-hoped-for Batman tease (give it time), and several other characters making their major or minor debuts in the movie, Gunn drops a lot to chew on. Nathan Fillion (The Magicians) is the green, bowl-cut-sporting Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan (The Pharmacologist) is Rex Mason aka Metamorpho, the elemental shapeshifter who can morph any part of his body into any material, Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) is the winged warrior Hawkgirl, and Edi Gathegi (12 Years a Slave) is the inventor-turned-masked-superhero Michael Holt/Mister Terrific.

Comic book fans will also want to look for a young Milly Alcock, as Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Supergirl; Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell, playing Superman’s adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent; and Frank Grillo (Bird Box), reprising his Rick Flag Sr. role from the animated series, Creature Commandos, and Sean Gunn (Toy Story 4), as Maxwell Lord.

Superhero Movies: Balancing Light and Darkness

Drenched in action as it is, with rooftop jumps, spacecraft collisions, cyborg-versus-canine combat, and other exciting moments, this Superman trailer delivers both on epic scope and human emotion. When Lois prods Clark about the legitimacy of his heroism, he goes on an impassioned and perhaps overwrought rant about needing to save people because “People were going to die!” Some of the drama rings true (after all, we are talking about Gunn), but it’s mixed with a surprisingly broad streak of humor and warmth, as well. The closing image of the trailer is the self-described superhero Superman lying down in his bed, alone for a rare moment, in peace and contentment with Krypto lying on top of him. A simple shot, it’s a capstone of the kind of film Gunn is making here: a comic book spectacular that’s grounded in what it means to connect.