James Gunn’s Superman may ostensibly be about introducing moviegoers to a new version of the Man of Steel, but it’s also an ensemble superhero movie. Case in point - the new trailer is crammed full of familiar faces from the DC Universe, both good and evil. This movie is set in a world where Superman and his fellow heroes have already been active for a few years, and it takes full advantage of that fact.
Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with every DC character in this early footage. We’re here to break down all the major players and what the trailer reveals about their respective roles in the first live-action DCU movie.
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor
Despite being undoubtedly the most important Superman villain of them all, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor appears surprisingly little in this trailer. We only see a couple quick shots of Lex here, including one where he’s holding a gun and apparently having a very emotional reaction to a crowd showing its love for the Man of Steel.
Despite his minimal presence in the trailer, all signs point to Luthor being the main villain of the movie. Gunn previously told IGN that Lex and Superman know each other by reputation only, and this film marks the first time Lex actively clashes with Superman.
Gunn also revealed that this version of Lex is heavily inspired by the one seen in the comic All-Star Superman, telling reporters, “Lex is really a sort of sorcerer in a way. He's a scientist, but he's so good at science and I think of him as like a sorcerer.”
He may be a science sorcerer, but this Lex Luthor also promises to be more three-dimensional and sympathetic than past cinematic incarnations. Hoult revealed as much during a roundtable interview at the Superman trailer premiere.
“This Lex, I mean obviously he's smart and ruthless and he has to outmaneuver Superman on certain levels because he can't match him in others. But there's also something about this character… where even though you perhaps don't agree with his process, there's an element where you can understand on some levels where he's coming from and what he's pushing as his ideology is perhaps better for humanity.”
Krypto and the Silver Age Influence
One of the biggest surprises surrounding Gunn’s Superman so far has been the reveal that Superman’s faithful dog Krypto is appearing, a first for a live-action Superman movie. We see Krypto being a very good boy in the trailer, coming to his master’s aid in his time of need. Despite that, Gunn has teased that Krypto won’t always be so well-behaved, with the character’s feisty personality being inspired by a dog Gunn himself adopted during filming.
Gunn told reporters at the trailer reveal event, “[Superman’s] relationship with Krypto is complicated. He's not nearly the best dog you've seen. There's a lot more of Krypto than you see in this trailer. But yeah, I also thought that it was a way to say that, yes we're embracing all of the Superman mythology.”
In the comics, there have been a few different versions of Krypto over the years. But the gist is that he’s a dog from Krypton who undergoes the same massive power boost as Clark once he arrives on Earth.
Krypto’s inclusion in the film is one of the clearest signs that Gunn’s Superman is more heavily inspired by DC’s Silver Age comics than its predecessors. For those not familiar with the term, the Silver Age describes a period in the comic industry from the ‘50s and ‘60s. It denotes a more lighthearted tone and a heavier emphasis on science fiction elements. In the Silver Age Superman comics, Superman was often battling giant monsters rather than traditional supervillains, while barely an issue would go by without Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen undergoing some bizarre transformation. The Silver Age is also when readers were introduced to Superman’s extended family, including Supergirl, Krypto, and other members of the Super-Pet menagerie.
We can see the Silver Age influence in other scenes in the trailer, with several shots showing Supes battling giant monsters that Gunn calls kaiju. Clearly, the goal is to capture the larger-than-life quality of those classic Superman comics, even if the tone looks to be more dramatic.
Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific
Edi Gathegi plays Mister Terrific, the one character in the movie with the scientific genius to rival Lex Luthor. Mister Terrific is a brilliant inventor and Olympic-level athlete, both of which combine to make him a natural superhero. He wears a trademark T-shaped mask on his face that allows him to detect energy signatures, and he also has a series of floating robotic orbs called T-Spheres that he can control at will.
According to Gunn, Mister Terrific is the most important of the various supporting heroes in the film.
“I love Mister Terrific. These characters all get their moment in the sun. They all have their moments. They're not just cameos, these are the characters. They're supporting cast, but Mister Terrific is the main character of those characters. He actually has a big part of the plot.”
Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl
Alien: Romulus’ Isabela Merced plays Hawkgirl, a winged, mace-wielding heroine who serves in the DCU version of the Justice League. We don’t know which version of Hawkgirl Merced is playing specifically, as there have been a lot of them over the years. Hawkgirl and her companion Hawkman are among the most convoluted heroes in the DC Universe, owing to the fact that they frequently die and are resurrected in new forms. We suspect Gunn is going to tiptoe around that back-story in his movie and focus on Hawkgirl as the powerful bruiser of the Justice League, much as she was in the animated series.
Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner
Firefly’s Nathan Fillion is playing Green Lantern in the movie, or a Green Lantern, anyway. Fillion is specifically playing Guy Gardner, a brash, tough-talking, blue collar alternative to more familiar Lanterns like Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
Guy’s inclusion in the film is a sign of just how much Gunn is drawing from the classic ‘80s series Justice League International for his take on the Justice League. We’re assuming that, like in the comic, the League in Superman is financed by business tycoon Maxwell Lord (who’s played by Guardians of the Galaxy’s Sean Gunn). Guy is the resident Green Lantern. He’s a hero who doesn’t always get along with his peers, but he’s very handy to have in a fight.
It’ll be interesting to see how Guy’s role in Superman might connect to the upcoming Lanterns series on Max. We know that the show stars Kyle Chandler as Hal and Aaron Pierre as John, and deals with an Earth-based murder mystery. Gunn has been clear he’s not focused on setting up future projects in this movie, but we wouldn’t be surprised if there’s at least some sort of nod to the larger Green Lantern Corps here.
Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho
The trailer includes a quick glimpse of Metamorpho, played by Barry’s Anthony Carrigan. Metamorpho was once an adventurer named Rex Mason who was hired by his employer Simon Stagg to find a mystical artifact known as the Orb of Ra. After Stagg attempts to kill Mason, Mason is exposed to a radioactive meteorite and transformed. He gains the ability to change his body into different periodic elements, though he also gains the monstrous appearance we see in the trailer.
Metamorpho is nothing if not a tragic character, doomed to be shunned by polite society even as he routinely defends the world with his powers. He’s perfect for Gunn’s sensibilities, in other words. We don’t know if Metamorpho will be a member of the Justice League in the film, but it’s a safe bet he’ll be an ally to Superman.
Kelex
One shot in the trailer shows a grieving Superman cradling a blue robot. We can only assume that robot is Kelex, despite the color change. Kelex is a relic of Krypton and the primary caretaker of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. The trailer suggests that a lot of the action in the film will be taking place at the Fortress, and it seems Kelex will be damaged or destroyed in the chaos. As one of the only tangible links to Superman’s past on Krypton, we can understand why Kelex’s death might upset him a little.
David Corenswet as Superman
At this point, David Corenswet’s Superman probably needs no introduction. He’s obviously the star of the movie, and the first real linchpin of Gunn’s DCU. We see plenty of both Superman and Clark Kent in this trailer, with the Man of Steel clearly on the ropes while fighting a physically stronger opponent. Is this one of the many kaiju we see in the trailer? Whatever’s going on here, the trailer shows us that the movie aims to explore all facets of this deceptively simple superhero.
To Gunn, it’s reductive to boil down Superman and Clark to one or the other. It’s the intersection between the two where the real person exists, even if only a handful of people in the world truly know both sides of him.
“It's not just Clark. It's not just Superman,” says the director. “It's Clark/Superman. And the only people that know Clark/Superman are his mom and his dad and a few others who know who he is, and those are very different things. People said all sorts of different things. They said, ‘Clark's the real one.’ They said, ‘Superman's the real one and Clark's the secret identity.’ But I don't - and it says it in my script on the second page - I don't believe either of those things. I don't think anybody knows Superman unless they know both of him. And when they know both of him, they know the real guy. And that means not too many people.”
Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane
Anchoring the film alongside Corenswet’s Superman is Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane. As always, Superman will be joined in his fight for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow by the most intrepid reporter in Metropolis.
At the trailer premiere event, Brosnahan told reporters, “I've always been inspired by this character. She's somebody who is ambitious and courageous and hungry and determined to get the greatest story almost at any cost. I've always loved [her] and was so excited by the opportunity to bring all of those things that have been true of her in every iteration… She evolves to fit what it would mean to be an intricate journalist of each generation or each decade that she's presented in."
Gunn and the cast are keeping understandably mum on whether Lois indeed knows Superman’s secret yet in the DCU. But Brosnahan makes one thing clear. The two characters are portrayed as “soulmates,” even if they go about their shared business in wildly different ways.
“They're close, they have been close, at least [at] that moment. But what I love about their relationship, through every iteration of the comic books and all the films and television series is that they're soulmates. They're united in the fact that they are both in relentless pursuit of truth and justice, but they approach the world in totally different ways. She's somebody who, because of her profession, but also because of who she is, she questions everything, she questions everyone, she's trying to see around every corner, and that's the way that she faces the world."
“And Superman… is just radically present in every moment. He solves every issue that's directly in front of him. And I think the ways that they are opposite is something that is fun to watch. It's fun to watch them kind of bump up against each other sometimes in more ways than one. And then it's fun to watch the ways in which they really are united… They both work hard and play hard and love hard.”
The mystery of just how well Lois knows Superman and Clark Kent is one of many we’ll see explored when Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025. Which DC hero are you most excited to see in the new movie? Cast your vote in our poll and let us know down in the comments.
For more on Superman, find out why Gunn is "giving up everything in my life and soul" to make the reboot, and brush up on every upcoming DC movie and series.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
