The trailer for James Gunn’s heavily hyped Superman has arrived, and it’s as hopeful and soaring as you’d want from the first teaser. But it also starts with Superman (David Corenswet) in a very dark place — beaten, bloodied, and lying in the snow.
That’s just where things start, though. Over the course of the two plus minute look we get a surprising array of debuts and teases, including an epic kiss with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), multiple superheroes, and a very villainous Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). Not only that, we get Krypto the Superdog on the big screen for the first time… And what looks like it might be villain Solaris, the rogue sun?
With all that in mind, it’s a lot to take in. So let’s break down the 25 biggest moments in the first teaser trailer for Superman.
1. Superman Crashes
Right at the top of the trailer, we start in a surprising place: Superman crash-lands into the snowy wasteland, beaten and bleeding. We’ve seen Superman in trouble on screen before, but this is showing him post-battle, clearly in over his head. Also interesting: he is not at the Fortress of Solitude, though we know his HQ will show up in the film.
2. Superman’s Trunks!
Not to distract from Superman’s labored wheezing, but it’s also a clear look at a very different costume for the Man of Steel. Specifically… He’s wearing trunks! As James Gunn explained, via Gizmodo, this was David Corenswet’s idea.
“We were trying on all these different versions, and we screened tested with trunks and no trunks,” Gunn said. “And one of the things David said is that Superman wants kids to not be afraid of him. He’s an alien. He’s got these incredible powers. He shoots beams out of his eyes… He’s this incredibly powerful, could be considered scary, individual and he wants people to like him. He wants to be a symbol of hope and positivity. So he dresses like a professional wrestler. He dresses in a way that makes people unafraid of him, that shows that hope that shows that positivity. And that really clicked in for me. And I think trying to pretend that Superman’s costume doesn’t have some frivolity to it at its base, trying to make it look serious, is silly because he is a superhero. He’s the first one, brightly colored and that’s who he is.”
3. Meet Clark Kent
We get further shots in the trailer, but here’s Superman as Clark Kent, complete with Noah Centineo haircut. It’s not quite Christopher Reeve’s bumbling nerd, but he’s making a good case for a different haircut and glasses working as an effective disguise.
4. Who Is The Hammer Of Boravia?
There are a ton of fun details as Clark enters the Daily Planet. We discover the HUGE info that three types of cupcakes are sold next door (Red Velvet, Coconut, and Lemon). The building is located at 44 Concord Street in Metropolis. But most intriguingly, the day’s headline on The Daily Planet reads “Hammer Of Boravia Creates Havoc Downtown,” with a picture of some sort of hulking, man-shaped… Something. Boravia is a country first introduced in Superman #2 from 1939, and was your basic “fake European country.” As far as I can tell there’s no Hammer of Boravia in DC Comics. Will this play into the plot in any way? Yes, definitely – and read on below for more on that.
5. Lois Lane, Ace Reporter For The Daily Planet
Soon after that we get a tour through the Daily Planet offices, including our first look at Lois Lane, ace reporter, reading the day’s paper (does she know who the Hammer of Boravia is?). Some other neat details including a brief look at Jimmy Olsen at his desk (Skyler Gisondo), sports reporter Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett) strolling through, and GBS (Galaxy Broadcasting System) playing on the omnipresent newsroom TVs. And speaking of those TVs, the headlines are all grim: tensions rising in Eastern Europe, towns flooding after extreme weather… This is a world that needs Superman.
Someone who might need Clark Kent, though? Lois Lane, who ends the sequence glancing at the homegrown reporter, and him looking at her back, surprised.
6. Kent Farm’s Got Cows
Next up is the Kent Farm, a decidedly more normal looking house than we’ve seen in previous movies. The single level farm sports not one, not two, but three cows. And it segues into Clark hugging Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor) in a brief shot. He’s probably thanking him for having so many cows, I bet.
7. “Krypto. Home.”
Back to the snow and bleeding Superman, he whistles, summoning… Krypto the Superdog! He’s wearing a little cape! Ahhh! Superman tells him, “Krypto. Home. Take me home.” And Krypto proceeds to drag Superman across the snow by his cape. He’s a good boy.
8. Superman Of Steel
The rest of the trailer is a breakneck pace shot after shot of wild things, but we start with a slo-mo of Superman saving a little girl from an attacking, giant monster (more on that in a second). It’s a stark contrast to certain Supermans who don’t save people on a one to one scale, and seems core to what Gunn is doing with this movie. Also in the next shot we see banners for the Metropolis Meteors, the city’s baseball team, so that’s pretty neat. And the action is happening on a street named “Ross” likely after artist Alex Ross, who drew Kingdom Come — one of the sources of inspiration for the film.
9. Luthor. Lex Luthor.
Next up in the spotlight is Lex Luthor, who is seen angrily watching Superman fly by, followed by a shot of the Luthorcorp logo, and then him wearing a tux and brandishing a gun, James Bond style. Speaking of that Luthercorp logo shot, though…
10. Engineering A Break-In?
You might be distracted by the massive Luthercorp logo, but right in the middle of the shot is a tiny person in a shiny, metallic suit seemingly sneaking into the building. It’s definitely not clear who or what it is, but to venture a wild guess this could be The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría), one of the antagonists of the movie.
11. Superman Breaks Out
Again assuming a lot here, but it sure looks like Superman is in an array of glass prisons along with other folks. They’re shining lights on him as he busts his way out. Given some behind-the-scenes shots of the Daily Planet staff leaving some sort of ship, perhaps that’s who else is imprisoned?
12. A Flag In The Sand
One of the most emotionally affecting scenes in the trailer, a young child plants a flag in the sand and calls for Superman, as the adults flee around him and explosions rock the scene. It seems likely based on later footage that this is Boravia, the country where The Hammer of Boravia comes from. If so, it doesn’t look particularly European, as in the comics.
13. Can Of Steel
Not everyone loves Superman, though. And an angry mob is even throwing cans at his head, which doesn’t hurt him physically, but maybe his feelings.
14. Going Stagg
The place where the beaten, burnt Superman goes to get a moment’s peace while the crowd shouts at him? The lobby of Stagg Industries. In the comics, that’s run by Simon Stagg, a businessman who employs Rex Mason, aka Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan).
15. Guy Gardner!
Don’t worry, Superman still has some friends. Or allies, at least. Or jerks he hangs out with, as we get our first look at Nathan Fillion as the bowl-cut wearing Guy Gardner, aka the Green Lantern, who blocks off the windows of the lobby with his Green Lantern ring. In the background? Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced).
16. Hawkgirl!
Hawkgirl gets her own moment in the sun (literally) as she races into battle, mace in hand.
17. Monster Mash
Remember that monster Superman was saving the little girl from? This is the beastie. And connecting the dots further, it seems likely the scorch marks on his costume in the scene where he’s getting the can thrown at his head are from this kaiju, as well. So does he perhaps get blamed for the destruction of Metropolis actually caused by this monster? We shall see, I guess.
18. Solaris, Last Sun Of Krypton
While not confirmed, it seems likely that enormous ball of light blasting the city behind Superman and Lois is Solaris, the rogue sun created by Grant Morrison for DC One Million. The villain is what his name says: an evil sun, and was a major part of Morrison and Frank Quitely’s landmark All-Star Superman, which also helped inspire this movie.
19. Is This A Kissing Movie?
Yep, Clark and Lois are a couple in Superman. And heck yeah there’s smooching. Not only that, sure seems Lois knows that Clark is Superman as well, so no “love triangle” this time around.
20. The Death Of Kelex?
Superman mourns a robot in what looks like the Fortress of Solitude, and there are two possibilities here. The first is Kelex, essentially the robot butler for the Fortress of Solitude. However, given the blue cloth on the floor, it looks like this might actually be a Superman robot, as Frank Quitely’s designs for the robots in All-Star Superman also sported blue capes. Why Superman is so bummed, though? I’d also be bummed if a robot double of me died, for what it’s worth.
21. Grow, Crystals, Grow
We also get a shot of crystals growing in the icy wastes, likely Superman growing the Fortress of Solitude, a la Superman (1978).
22. Meet Metamorpho
Despite looking likely a terrifying villain, this is actually Metamorpho, who we mentioned earlier. He’s got the power of “elemental transmutation,” and can change his body into different shapes. He’s weird!
23. Superman Vs…???
Here we get a brief shot of Superman fighting… Somebody… In the Metropolis Meteors stadium. Behind-the-scenes pics have shown a black-suited, face-covered character with what looks like a “U” on their chest. Could it be Ultraman, the evil Superman from Earth-3? Or someone else?
24. Mr. Terrific And His T-Spheres
Next we get a closer look at Mister Terrific, followed by a scene that looks like him using his T-spheres — floating hyper-computers that follow him around — to protect Lois Lane from an attacking army. Also curious is the armor the attackers are wearing. Are they connected to Boravia? The black-suited guy from the stadium fight? Something else?
25. Heck Yeah, This Is A Kissing Movie
While there are other scenes that follow, yeah, Lois and Clark are clearly central to this movie, including this iconic floating kiss between the two. Is it 2025 yet?
Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025.
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