‘Superman’ Teaser Trailer Breakdown: Look Up! (At Everything You Need To Know)

As a character, Superman has sort of lost his way in recent mainstream adaptations. Much can be said about the last time he was translated to the big screen, but even then, that would only cover a small part of what has become a mass collection of content. James Gunn has set out to make things clear.

Superman is hope. Superman is an undying light in eternal darkness, burning at his own peril for the greater good of a people who don’t deserve him. Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025, and we’ve finally got a first look.

Two days after a 20-second teaser took the internet by storm, Gunn and the new (and potentially improved) cinematic DC division have followed up with a full trailer. So, from the Fortress of Solitude to the scorched skies of Metropolis, here’s everything you need to know about the new footage.

We open on Superman crashing into a vast field of snow, which can be assumed to have some relation to the aforementioned fortress. Not only does this scene serve as our first official look at David Corenswet’s Superman on film, but shortly after, we see Krypto the Superdog as well.

It isn’t clear exactly why, but the hero has taken some damage here. Through bloody teeth and in an exasperated whisper, he pleads, “Krypto… home. Take me home.” Despite the canine’s contagious enthusiasm, there’s a clear air of narrative desperation here, one that remains present throughout the entire trailer.

To that point, a child on a war-torn plain is seen raising a flag with Superman’s “S” emblazoned across it. He clings to the pole and mutters the hero’s name repeatedly. As the trailer continues, his faint cries melt into the ever-present nostalgic score: this is Superman; you can see it, feel it, and literally hear it, too.

We get an extended peek into Clark’s place of work, The Daily Planet, as well, after one shot in the teaser set the stage earlier this week. Clark hustles indoors, politely navigating a flock of metropolitan citizens on the sidewalk to do so, before settling at his desk and sparing a glance to Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois across the room.

She makes multiple appearances throughout the footage, sharing two hugs and a kiss with Corenswet’s Superman along the way. Their chemistry is established immediately, and looks to be at the heart of this film, as it has always been for the title character.

In addition to Lois, we get our first official look at Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor in gloriously bald fashion. Hoult, who’s coming off an absolute stunner performance in Nosferatu, visually embodies the character and his hatred for Superman quite well, an aspect that Gunn has made  tantamount in interviews.

In one shot, he whips away after watching Superman fly by the Luthercorp building, and in the next, he brandishes a pistol in a hazy blue room. In the next shot, Superman shatters a sheen of glass in an environment that is aesthetically similar to that of Lex’s in the previous scene. Regardless of whether or not those two scenes specifically are connected, the trailer is prime with tension between Luthor and Kal-El. Seeing Corenswet and Hoult chew the scenery together should be a real treat.

On the opposite end of hatred is Pruitt Taylor Vince’s Pa Kent, the arguable base of Superman’s love for humanity. We get a quick snippet of an intimate moment and a hug between the two at the Kent family home.

Other notable appearances in the trailer include Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, who blasts an unmistakable ray of green light in his single shot; Isabela Merced’s Hawgirl, fully suited-up and flying throgh Metropolis; Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific, taking fearless cover behind a force field, and Anthony Carrigan’s Metamorpho featured in an emotional close-up.

Oh, and there’s a massive kaiju monster that shoots fire at Superman, as well as what appears to be his comic book-counterpart Solaris, a star-like robot that appears as a giant eye in the sky, terrorizing the city in the dead of night. It’s a lot to take in, to say the least.

Yet it all feels right. James Gunn has clearly pulled out all the stops for Superman, and rightfully so, as the fate of the brand new DCU depends on its success. It feels like a true event, one that should spur audiences into seats with ease come summer of next year and, hopefully, restore their excitement in a franchise of superheroes that deserves a real chance.

If anybody can pull that off, it’s James Gunn. And in traditional fashion, Superman looks to be exactly what the genre, and really the world, needs.