DC Releases 5-Minute Superman Preview, Featuring Krypto The Superdog

Krypto, take us home! There's no upcoming DC production under more scrutiny or facing more pressure than James Gunn's "Superman," but maybe that's exactly why the Man of Steel won't be doing it alone. Much has been made of the ensemble cast and the various DC heroes who'll be joining him for this adventure, although the creative team has insisted that the focus remains squarely on Superman. But perhaps no supporting character is as important to his success than his four-legged companion who has already stolen the show: Krypto the Superdog. It should come as no surprise that the dog-loving director took inspiration from his own pet in real life, and that has never been more apparent than with the latest bit of marketing fun that's dropped into our laps today.

Warner Bros. has just released a new Krypto-themed sneak peek at "Superman," delivering a whopping five minutes of footage expanding on that snowy scene that opened the first official trailer. You know the one: Superman, after facing some unknown threat, seems to be at his weakest point. Bloodied and in desperate straits, he whistles for help and is met with a cloud of snow off in the distance, kicked up in the wake of some fast-moving character. Who else but Krypto could save the day, literally dragging our hero by his cape back to safety. In this clip, we see exactly where they're going — the Fortress of Solitude.

While the last section of this sneak peek essentially contains the same footage as the first trailer for James Gunn's "Superman" (minus tiny extensions, like Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor saying, "He's back!" when he sees Supes flying out a window, whereas the previous trailer cut away before he could utter the line), the majority of the footage serves to truly introduce us to the relationship between Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent and his super-pooch, Krypto. Surprisingly, Krypto acts ... more or less like a normal dog, jumping all over his human companion and being generally rambunctious with him instead of the more boring approach of having the pup be a stoic do-gooder who follows Superman's every command at the drop of a hat. This makes their dynamic feel much more relatable — an important thing to establish for an audience when they're trying to empathize with a guy who's essentially a god on Earth.

Also, it's been a while since I've dug into the pages of DC Comics, so I'm not sure if this has been broached before, but the idea of positioning essentially a massive magnifying glass in the Fortress of Solitude that can be altered to power up an injured Kal-El is a very cool concept that has never been seen in the live-action films before. And is that Alan Tudyk's voice as one of the robot butlers who helps Supes to safety?

Overall, this looks like an exciting change of pace and a great start to the DC Universe, which is great news for the folks at Warner Bros. and superhero movie fans everywhere.

"Superman" flies into theaters on July 11, 2025.