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Superman (2025)

  • ️Wed Dec 18 2024

Superman (2025) (Film)

The Man of Tomorrow is back.

"Krypto. Home....take me home."

— Superman

Superman is a 2025 American superhero film based off of DC Comics' Man of Steel and the first theatrical installment in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe franchisenote  for DC Studios, with Gunn writing and directing the film. Considered part of Gunn’s first chapter for the franchise, entitled Gods and Monsters, it will release on July 11, 2025.

The film sees Clark Kent/Superman (David Corenswet) contending with both Lex Luthor's (Nicholas Hoult) latest scheme and the fact that the moral values his adoptive parents instilled in him are at odds with other heroes that think of kindness as old-fashioned. As Clark tries to reconcile his Kansas upbringing with his Kryptonian heritage while trying to understand what the world at large expects from him, can the Man of Steel prove there's still power in hope and compassion?

Superman will also star Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Milly Alcock as Supergirl, María Gabriela de Faría Chacón as The Engineer, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonathan Kent and Neva Howell as Martha Kent.

Previews: Trailer Tease, Official Teaser Trailer

Fighting for Tropes and Justice…

  • Adaptational Costume Change: The trailer has Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl wear variations of Mr. Terrific's Civvie Spandex with a different colour scheme. In the comics, all three characters have different costumes.
  • Adaptational Hairstyle Change:
    • In the first trailer, Clark's hair is a curly mop compared to his hair as Superman and not how it's usually drawn.
    • Pa Kent is also depicted in the teaser trailer as balding and bearded in contrast to many other versions who are clean-shaven, often with a full head of hair.
    • While Guy Gardner keeps his signature bowl cut, the the teaser trailer shows he also has sidelocks, while his comic book counterpart usually has those shaved.
  • Adaptational Modesty: In the comics, Hawkgirl's outfit is a sleeveless top that exposes her midriff and low waist pants. This version of her, as seen in the trailer, is fully covered.
  • Adaptation Name Change:
    • Lex Luthor's company is shown in the trailer to be called LuthorCorp, not LexCorp as it's usually known. That said, past adaptations have shown the company begin as LuthorCorp due to Lex inheriting it from his father, and then rename it later on to build his own legacy (often sparked by Daddy Issues). Though whether or not that is the case in the film remains to be seen.
    • Similarly, Maxwell Lord's company in the comics was named Innovative Concepts. Set pictures and the jackets of Hawkgirl, Lantern and Terrific (Which feature the company's logo) seen in the trailer show that in this movie its name is LordTech.
  • Adaptation Species Change: In most adaptations, Krypto the Superdog is depicted as a white Labrador retriever. The version of Krypto seen in the trailer appears to be a mixed breed dog.
  • Advertising by Association:
    • Per the trailer - "From James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy."
    • A unique situation happens with the trailer itself. It doesn't show the title at all, just using John Williams' theme, effectively saying the film is Superman without ever saying it is.
  • Badass Adorable: The trailer shows that this version of Superman has Krypto the Superdog. Despite appearing like an adorable, cheerful dog, he still has access to most superpowers inherent to Kryptonians, like Flight, Super-Speed and Super-Strength.
  • Badass in a Nice Suit: Luthor is seen in the trailer holding a gun while wearing an elegant tuxedo, showing that this version of him isn't unwilling to get his hands dirty.
  • Bald of Evil: Lex, natch, is bald and is shown in the trailers to play an antagonistic role in the film.
  • Big Damn Heroes: In the trailer, Superman does what he does best and swoops in to shield a little girl from an explosion at the last second.
  • The Big Damn Kiss: A scene in the teaser trailer shows Clark and Lois having one.
  • Breath Weapon: The giant monster in the trailer attacks Superman by breathing fire on him. This being Superman, he seems to be able to resist it.
  • Brought to You by the Letter "S": As always, Superman has a big letter "S" on his chest featured prominently on the trailer and the film's poster, although this one takes visual inspiration from Superman's costume from Kingdom Come. Similarly, Mr. Terrific has a "T"-shaped mask. The mysterious man in a black suit working for Lex Luthor seen in the trailers seems to have a "U" logo on his chest.
  • Carry a Big Stick: As shown in the trailer, Hawkgirl's main weapon is a spiky mace.
  • Casting Gag: The first trailer reveals Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, at the peak of Green Lantern's renewed popularity, he was a very popular fancast for Hal Jordan, and most likely due to this he's voiced him a few times in animation. But here he plays a different Green Lantern, Guy Gardner.
  • Cool Shades: Lex Luthor wears dark sunglasses in the "Icon" tv spot when getting off a plane in the middle of a snowy tundra. It gives him an elegant, snappy look.
  • Dark Is Evil: The trailer reveals one of Luthor's minions is a mysterious man in a black costume and an apparent "U" on his chest. Judging by how he is seen fighting Superman, it's likely he doesn't have good intentions.
  • Deflector Shields: A scene in the trailer has Mister Terrific protect Lois from various gunshots using a forcefield deployed by his T-spheres.
  • Denser and Wackier: The trailer does seem to play with the more whimsical and fantastical elements of Superman comics including Krypto the Superdog and having Superman fight a giant kaiju.
  • Emerald Power: As it's natural with Green Lanterns, Guy Gardner's power ring can create Hard Light constructs that shine a bright green. In the trailer he is seen using it to create a barrier to quiet a screaming mob.
  • Flight: Naturally, the trailer tease ends with a shot of Superman flying into the sky towards the sun.
  • Heroic Dog: At the end of the trailer, Krypto the Superdog drags a defeated Superman through the snow back "home", as the hero requested.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: Zig-Zagged. On one hand, Superman seems to be held in enough respect that a kid, and later a multitude, calls out in the middle of a war zone for him to save them. However, Clark is also seen getting harassed by a mob in the trailer, one of whom even throws a can at him, showing that this version of Superman is In-Universe a divisive figure, and thus isn't Loved by All, at least for the time being.
  • Hope Bringer: The trailers show that this version of Superman is more explicitly a beacon of hope. A little kid is seen raising a flag with his symbol in the middle of a battlefield and calling out for him for help, later joined by more people. However, scenes showing him being booed on by a mob of civilians shows that this version of Clark still isn't Loved by All like his comic book counterpart.
  • Lighter and Softer: Compared to the previous live-action take on the character depicted by Henry Cavill. Promotional materials and the trailer itself make it clear this is a much more lighthearted and optimistic portrayal of the Man of Steel than what was presented in the DC Extended Universe. That being said, Superman himself still has an uphill battle to deal with, as indicated by the public scrutiny he faces and the costume reveal picture showing a tired and worn-down Superman.
  • Mourning a Dead Robot: In the trailer, Superman can be seen holding a robot in their dying moment, showing empathy for someone who isn't even organic.
  • Movie Superheroes Wear Black: Averted, as the poster, trailer and promotional material all show that this version of Superman's costume is a lot more colourful than the one seen in the DCEU, even including the Underwear of Power associated with the character. Zig-zagged with Hawkgirl, however, who switches her armour-like costume in favour of something more akin to Mr. Terrific's Civvie Spandex, down to wearing a leather jacket, but keeps the bright colours (Although they go from yellow and green to black, white and orange.)
  • Mythology Gag:
    • As seen in promotional materials, the Superman logo is based on Alex Ross's more abstract, angular "alien S" design in Kingdom Come but with the classic yellow and red colors instead of black and red. In a rarity for Superman logo variations, the outer border is part of the yellow background instead of the red foreground unlike in Kingdom Come and most other comics but akin to Shane Davis' design from J. Michael Straczynski's Superman: Earth One. Superman's costume is also a mix of the classic and New 52's Superman (2011) styles (red trunks and yellow belt and yellow symbol on the cape, plus some detailing on the blue suit which has a high collar).
    • The song used for the motion poster and trailer tease is a gentle choral version of John Williams’ theme for the 1978 film. The trailer itself plays the theme on solo electric guitar before progressing to a more heroic orchestra.
    • In the trailer, Lex is briefly shown watching a news report detailing that "Boravian Troops" are amassing at the country's border. "Boravia" is the name of a fictional European country that first appeared in Superman (1939) #2.
    • The trailer also shows Superman fighting a black-suited figure in the Metropolis Meteors' baseball stadium — a baseball team which first appeared in the anthology series "Strange Sports Stories".
    • At one point in the trailer, Superman can be seen in the Fortress of Solitude cradling a broken robot. This robot matches the appearance of those seen patrolling the Fortress in Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly's All-Star Superman, complete with blue cape.
    • Mr. Terrific is shown in the trailer shielding civilians from LuthorCorp troopers wearing green-and-purple armor — drawing from the so-called “Guardians of the City” from Jeph Loeb's Superman for All Seasons, and, of course, Lex’s own iconic Warsuit.
    • The trailer shows a brief shot of the logo of Stagg Industries. In the greater DC mythology, its owner, Simon Stagg, is the primary antagonist of Metamorpho.
    • The trailer shows that this version of Metamorpho's skin has a more desaturated grey tone, with swirly patterns and a slightly rocky texture, which makes him resemble how he looked after his clone/offshoot Shift forcefully fused himself back with Rex during the One Year Later arc of Judd Winick's Outsiders (2003).
    • Promotional material for the movie◊ mentions the Chocos building. Chocos, a Writing Around Trademarks version of Oreo cookies, are the Martian Manhunter's Trademark Favourite Food.
    • The LuthorCorp building, as shown in the trailer, is composed of two interconnected towers (with The Engineer shown walking across the connection), bringing to mind Metropolis' LexCorp Towers, which used to be its equivalent of the Twin Towers.
    • While Krypto, as he appears on the teaser trailer, isn't a retriever like Superdog in the comics, he looks a lot like Krypto the Earth Dog, from Superboy (1994).
  • Non-Uniform Uniform: As seen in set photos and the trailer, instead of their usual costumes Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl are wearing variations of Mr. Terrific's red, white, and black jacket outfit, only with their own colors (green and yellow instead of red) to indicate they're on a team together.
  • Occult Blue Eyes: As shown in the trailer, Metamorpho has intense blue eyes that contrast with his bizarre, inhuman appearance.
  • Recycled Title: As seen in promotional materials, the reboot movie shares its title with the first Christopher Reeve movie, which was/is often called Superman: The Movie for marketing purposes and convenience but its onscreen title is just Superman as well.
  • Rent-a-Zilla: A giant, fire-breathing monster can be seen fighting Superman in the trailer.
  • Reimagining the Artifact: Promotional material and the trailer have shown that this version of Superman will incorporate his iconic red trunks. As designed by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the trunks were meant to emulate the suit of a circus strongman. With circuses becoming a lot less prominent in modern times, the trunks are often accused of being out of place or silly, and they tend to not be featured in recent adaptations ever since Man of Steel in 2013, itself riding on DC's New 52 era where the comic book Superman ditched them from 2011 until their return in 2018. David Corenswet defended keeping the trunks by having them resemble those worn by professional wrestlers, a more contemporary reference. And wrestlers, like strongmen, are also looked up to and evoke strength, power, and a larger-than-life attitude.
  • Say My Name: In lieu of a traditional title drop, the teaser trailer has a crowd repeatedly chant Superman's name in unison.
  • Series Mascot: James Gunn used Krypto as a mascot for the Puppy Bowl to promote the movie and encourage people to adopt homeless dogs. The event featured a Superman banner with Krypto, along with footage of him playfully interacting with the Puppy Bowl logo.
  • Social Media Before Reason: A number of people in the trailer tease react to some offscreen thing by filming it with their cellphones.
  • Spiritual Antithesis: Invoked. The first trailer purposefully sets the film in contrast to the previous contemporary Darker and Edgier, more grounded Superman movies and DC movies in general. The second half in particular reveals the film includes more of the Denser and Wackier elements of the comics like Krypto the Superdog, more abundance of superheroes existing in the universe, fire-breathing Kaiju, and a version of the uplifting John Williams Superman theme.
  • The Team Normal: Of the superheroes seen in the trailer or set to appear on the movie, only Mr. Terrific doesn't have any powers, "merely" being a Badass Normal and Gadgeteer Genius.
  • Truer to the Text: The trailer shows that Superman's cape has his logo on the back as well, which hasn't happened in movies ever since Christopher Reeve, and Dean Cain for TV (unless one counts Krypton where Superman himself never appeared, only his cape). The cape symbol tends to be omitted in animation as well ever since Superman: The Animated Series.
  • Underwear of Power: The first trailer notably shows Superman's costume includes his classic red strongman trunks and golden belt over his blue pants, an element dropped from a number of contemporary costume designs. Amusingly enough, David Corenswet (Clark's actor) lobbied for their return, with him justifying that even now it invokes the image of professional wrestlers that kids still often look up to.
  • Wham Shot: In the teaser trailer, a beaten and bloodied Superman suddenly gives a long, low whistle, for something to approach at high speed, before revealing it's Krypto the Superdog, who literally drags the beaten hero back to safety.

"Superman..."
"SUPERMAN! SUPERMAN! SUPERMAN! SUPERMAN!"