Everything Revealed in the First Superman 2025 Trailer

DC Studios is diving headfirst into the next chapter of its cinematic universe, and that chapter is Superman. Rebooted and under the direction of James Gunn, this new film starring a relatively unknown Clark Kent, a brassy Lois Lane, an extended rogues’ gallery of DC characters, and one very adorable superdog is looking to set a new bar for what we can expect from superhero movies. Coming out this July, the film has been teasing audiences for months now, but now that the first full trailer has dropped, we finally have plenty of material to get pumped about.

Superman focuses less on Clark Kent’s origins and more on his inner conflict between his Kryptonian royal past and down-to-earth Kansas upbringing. The film doesn’t shy away from this emotional core; according to Gunn, it’s at the center of the story.

Gunn made it clear that this film would not be your run-of-the-mill origin story for the character. “The idea of, like, ‘I didn’t ask for any of this’ or ‘I’m from another planet, I’m not from here’—none of that is the point of this movie,” Gunn said. “The heart of the movie is the question that Clark is struggling with, and it’s: Where do I belong?”

Star David Corenswet, who you might recognize from roles in Pearl or Hollywood, is playing a Superman who is 25 years old, slightly older than the norm, but much less inexperienced. The constant flip-flop between being Clark Kent and Superman, both physically and in his interactions with Lois Lane, is sure to be a focal point of the character and film.

Rachel Brosnahan, who you might know from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, plays Lois Lane, who in the Superman trailer is sharp, no-nonsense, and ready to take on Superman, both literally and figuratively. Lois opens the trailer in medias res, having somehow been put in front of the fake Superman (Clark Kent) to do an impromptu interview. There’s a definite sexual chemistry between the two characters, but has Lois found Clark’s identity? Is she just playing a long? We might be arguing this over bars for months, but a convincing argument can be made both for and against Lois’s knowledge at the time of the interview. A case could be made that she already knows, while others (this writer among them) feel that the nuances of their dialogue and, more specifically, their actors’ facial expressions during the scene, suggest that Lois is in the dark and Clark is doing a hell of a job keeping it that way. No matter the truth, it’s sure to be one of the central points of the movie.

Nicholas Hoult (Eternals) rounds out the major players as Lex Luthor, Superman’s most dastardly of nemeses. Hoult promises to bring his usual brand of sinister charm and corporate mismanagement to the role, and he has no shortage of partners in villainy. Sara Sampaio is Eve Teschmacher, and Terence Rosemore is Otis, both of whom serve as Luthor’s ethical-but-not-really lapdogs.

But it’s a dog you might not be expecting that’s stealing scenes in the trailer. Krypto, Superman’s iconic white dog, takes center stage and, as you’ll see, really steals the show. We first met Krypto in the teaser for the film, released last December. In it, we see a now-grown Krypto dragging a mortally wounded Superman back to the Fortress of Solitude, from which he would eventually make a miraculous recovery. The full trailer builds on that moment, reiterating just how great a canine hero Krypto is when he takes on Lex Luthor and the more modern, high-tech villain Angela Spica (Maria Gabriela de Faria) at the Fortress.

Angela Spica, also known as The Engineer, sports an intimidating getup of sleek black spandex, glowing mechanical enhancements, and a pair of deadly-looking rotating blades that emerge from her palms—courtesy of the nanotech that’s no doubt integrated into her body in ways we won’t fully see for a while. Spica is leading a high-tech attack on the Fortress that would make Optimus Prime proud, but it’s looking like Krypto is more than up for the challenge.

Amid the kaiju-sized spectacle of epic superhero battles and heavy science-fiction action, the trailer also gave us a glimpse of a big, diverse cast of under-the-radar DC characters we’re itching to see more of. Nathan Fillion is a green-suit-wearing Guy Gardner, a Green Lantern known for his perm and gold goatee; Anthony Carrigan is Rex Mason/Metamorpho, a character who wields the power of shapeshifting elemental transmutation throughout his body; Isabela Merced is the winged warrior Hawkgirl; and Edi Gathegi is Michael Holt/Mister Terrific, a formerly world-class inventor and weapons designer who took on a crimefighting persona and mask when he was framed by corrupt officials.

The only character in the trailer we have known about previously (besides Superman himself) is Milly Alcock, who plays Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El. She will be the focus of this new Superman’s family tree; her very presence in this trailer is building to a greater cast of Kryptonian family members.

Jonathan Kent (played by Pruitt Taylor Vince) and Martha Kent (Neva Howell) will be playing Clark’s adopted parents on Earth in the film, continuing what we’ve known for some time about Clark’s home life. The biggest character surprise here is Frank Grillo, reprising his role from the animated DC universe series Creature Commandos as Rick Flag Sr., while Sean Gunn (no relation to James Gunn) is playing Maxwell Lord.

Though we could spend paragraphs on the fan service alone, one of the things that struck me most was the film’s ability to balance itself emotionally between action and quiet reflection, particularly in its exploration of Clark’s ethos. Early in the trailer, Lois runs through a barrage of questions for Superman on how his actions are being perceived and the true value of his heroism by the people in charge, like the U.S. Secretary of Defense. “People were going to die!” an angry Superman barks back in defense. I don’t know what’s more Superman-y: going on the offensive against a madwoman or berating a woman for daring to question your motivations and not reacting with the same consideration. We’ll see how it plays out.

But it’s not all grit. Even in this glossy, hi-tech trailer, there’s an earnestness and fun that laces itself into the dialogue. The penultimate shot of the trailer, Superman lying on his bed in the darkness with a contented Krypto nestled on top of his chest, could have easily been the closer. It’s not the first superhero movie to feature a moment of quiet reflection for its main character, but here it makes up for its simplicity with honest emotion that evokes exactly the kind of dynamic tension one would expect in a Clark Kent whose heart and mind are battling it out for supremacy.

Superman is built with not just an A-list cast but modern tonal and thematic storytelling. It’s more than just a reboot. It’s a reset. And all signs from this new trailer suggest we are in for a good one.