This Scene Between Superman and Krypto Will Melt Your Heart

There’s a new sheriff in town — and we mean that in both the best DC hero way and the “James Gunn is writing and directing this thing” way. In July, we’re about to be treated to Superman, DC Studios’ first major cinematic reinvention of the Man of Steel. There’s been months of hype and early footage to keep the early summer churning, but with the full trailer now out in the wild, DC fans have more than enough reason to keep clicking on that Superman release date throughout the year.

Clark Kent has a new hometown. Lois Lane is getting feisty. Familiar DC heroes and villains are gathering. And one superdog is stealing the show, in a reboot that feels fresh but emotionally true.

Meet Superman: An Origin Story of the Emotional Kind

First off: It’s not an origin story. Gunn has gone on record several times saying that Superman is a journey story more than an origin story. Aesthetically, the movie is getting comparison points to Christopher Reeve’s original The New Superman in terms of costumes and color palette. But it’s the kind of character-driven conflict that’s truly setting this one apart.

According to Gunn, Superman is an internal struggle between two parts of Clark Kent’s very being. On the one hand, he’s from another world entirely: royal Kryptonian blood runs in his veins, and he has powers that most mere mortals can only dream of. But by birthright, he’s also Clark Kent, a small-town Kansas kid who looks for the right place to fit in.

“Who I am, and where I belong, that’s what this movie’s about,” actor David Corenswet (Pearl, Hollywood) recently said about the movie in an interview. “He’s grappling with the fact that he’s an alien, and he wants to protect his adopted home, but at the same time, he’s a Clark Kent. He has an origin. He’s a real person.”

Cast as a 25-year-old Superman, Corenswet is more world-weary than wide-eyed in his leading role here. As such, Superman and Clark Kent’s respective personae are equally important to the story, particularly in his on-screen relationship with Lois Lane.

Lois Lane Gets Her Swagger Back

Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) plays Lois Lane, a ball of fire who quickly lets Clark Kent know just where he stands on upholding the law and media accountability. The Superman trailer kicks off with a meta moment, as Brosnahan is running through a fake interview as Lois with “Superman” — and Clark Kent, it should be said — the film’s eponymous hero. Their banter might seem like the flirting of a budding journalist/hero couple, but it’s unclear for the time being if Lois Lane has even come close to unmasking the Man of Steel.

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Internet viewers have been mulling this clip over and over for hours, with some fan theories saying Lois Lane already knows. While others, including this reporter, take the actor’s visage as an indication of Clark remaining tight-lipped on his powers. Regardless, it’s an interesting look at the two at the center of the story.

Nicholas Hoult Rounds Out Big-Name Cast

Another new character getting play in the trailer is Lex Luthor, who is handled by Nicholas Hoult in the role. The trailer offers the usual Luthor flavor of evil, with his usual Elon Musk-meets-Harvey Specter vibe already in full effect. But he’s not alone, with two key side characters who bear some explaining: Sara Sampaio and Terence Rosemore, both of whom play Luthor’s goons. The former is Eve Teschmacher, while the latter is Otis, filling the standard Luthor henchman roles but also getting all the morally gray complexity there is.

Meet Krypto the White Superdog, Kaiju, and an Expanding Lexicon of DC Superheroes

An unsuspected breakout star? Superman’s white dog, Krypto. We first saw him in a December teaser that went viral when he dragged a moaning, bloody Superman up a mountainside to safety at the Fortress of Solitude. The trailer expands the dog’s kudos in key ways. As he follows Superman into battle, we also see the dog square off physically and head to paws against Lex Luthor, as well as the high-tech and nanomorphed Angela Spica/The Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria).

The latter gets some serious screen time in her own right, donned in all black and what look like spandex leggings, with rotating blades for limbs. Her henchwoman is Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio), and between the three of them, they attempt a full-on breach of the Fortress.

The trailer also isn’t short on kaiju or bigger scenes. It looks like, amidst the costume changes and familiar character spots, we also get to see a whole slew of less-recognizable but no less interesting DC heroes. Nathan Fillion shows up as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, recognizable by his bowl cut and green armor. Anthony Carrigan is Rex Mason, better known as Metamorpho, an element-controlling shapeshifter. Isabela Merced plays the winged warrior Hawkgirl. Edi Gathegi, as Michael Holt/Mister Terrific, is a physics genius who also dons a superhero mask. Appearances from Frank Grillo and Sean Gunn as DC characters Rick Flag Sr. and Maxwell Lord suggest other references to be had, too. And in the same way Superman is standing in for an entire world of Kryptonians, so, too, is Milly Alcock’s Superman cousin Kara Zor-El—aka Supergirl.

As the mantle of Earth’s greatest protector isn’t getting left to rest, we also get to see an elderly Jonathan Kent played by Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Martha, his wife, played by Neva Howell. It all furthers the idea of Clark Kent’s moral anchors, including those with a literal familial connection to his adopted home on Earth.

Rick Flag Sr. isn’t just a reference point for Marvel fans: He was a character Frank Grillo played in the animated series Creature Commandos. Similarly, Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord is another crossovers nod; while Superman might be leading the charge for DC, the movies here are going to give some mutual Easter eggs to the broader fanbase.

The trailer is jam-packed. In between big leaps from rooftop to rooftop and clashes on a galaxy-sized scale, some flourishes seem to be some truly earned stakes for Superman, in particular. When Lois Lane challenges Superman’s decision-making in the heat of the moment and interrogates him on how his heroics will look when it comes to meeting with the Secretary of Defense, you get a real sense of his split internal motivations. “People were going to die!” he shouts back at Lois. “Why do you care if the Secretary of Defense doesn’t like me?”

Superman feels in balance. It’s silly and fun at moments (clip’s credits aside), as well as serious and even silly at others. A quiet moment at the film’s end offers some emotional grounding in a tale that’s shaping up to have earth-shaking stakes. Superman, alone in his room, is resting in his bed. Superman’s white dog, Krypto, lies on top of him, sated and pleased with the day’s work.

Suitably enough, given that we know where the world’s most famous houseplant is coming from, it’s not just Clark Kent’s adoptive parents that seem to be anchoring his sense of himself. It’s also us, waiting to cheer on a new champion with familiar looks but fresh storytelling.