James Gunn’s Superman is just three months away—and now two teasers in—until it soars into theatres in July this year. Yet fans of the legendary superhero and his loyal companion are seemingly in for a surprise, as actor David Corenswet has revealed that everything we think we know about Krypto’s role in the upcoming reboot is entirely wrong.
Although the first trailer depicted Krypto as Superman’s loyal and helpful sidekick, ready to jump in and save the day, Corenswet recently revealed to Fandango that things really couldn’t be more different:
“Superman doesn’t need Krypto. Krypto’s just… It’s sort of a foster situation. Superman is taking care of this dog. He loves dogs, as, you know, most people do. But Krypto, as James [Gunn] has described, is the worst dog in the world, with superpowers.”
Even though David Corenswet describes Clark as having “great love and affection” for his canine sidekick, he admits that Krypto can be quite a handful and cause more trouble than help, saying:
“He’s always destroying the Fortress of Solitude, and hunting wildlife, and just always getting into trouble never listening. And although there’s a great love and affection between Superman and dog, it’s honestly more trouble than it’s worth.”
By now, most fans have likely seen footage from the first trailer that shows an injured Superman whistling for aid and Krypto heroically rescuing him. However, the latest teaser for the movie gives the scene a bit more context and even offers some support for Corenswet’s recent statements. New footage shows the mischievous Krypto first responding to Superman’s whistle as most ordinary dogs would, eagerly jumping on his owner and playing a little too rough before finally paying attention to his owner’s pleas for help.
Even though this version of the superdog may differ from what we’ve come to expect, it certainly gives Krypto’s character a humorous and realistic touch that makes him even more endearing to audiences. Still, we should have expected this would be a lively and mischievous take on the popular superhero pet, given James Gunn has previously stated on Threads that Krypto was based on his real-life, former troublemaker of a dog named Ozu:
“Krypto was inspired by our dog Ozu, who we adopted shortly after I started writing ‘Superman.’ Ozu, who came from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs & never knew human beings, was problematic to say the least. He immediately came in & destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture – he even ate my laptop. It took a long time before he would even let us touch him. I remember thinking, ‘Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?’ – and thus Krypto came into the script & changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life. What better time to debut the not-so-good-good-boy Krypto than ‘Adopt A Shelter Dog’ Month. Btw, Ozu today, is, fairly often, a very good boy.”
At this point, we’re all eagerly counting down the days and months to see what else this super cute pooch gets up to in the new film. Thankfully, it’s not much longer until Superman sweeps into theatres on July 11, 2025.
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