Watch Krypto Drag Superman to Safety in Emotional New Trailer

DC Studios is barrelling into the future on the wings of Superman, a rebooted take on the DC Comics superhero being helmed by writer-director James Gunn. The film is set to arrive this July, has been the subject of months of speculation, and now that the first full trailer is here, fanboys and girls the world over have more than enough reason to get their spandex (non-)minds around.

A new Clark, a spiky Lois Lane, a cavalcade of DC heroes and villains, and one hilariously heroic superdog are all on hand to make for a fresh, earthbound reboot that, despite Superman‘s marquee name, has a definite personal vibe going on.

The Focus on an Internal Journey, Rather Than an External Origin

Gunn has already told fans that this Superman is not an origin story in the traditional sense. The superhero film will track the internal journey that Clark Kent goes on in trying to right the balance between his innate, Kryptonian birthright as the rightful ruler of an alien empire and his down-to-earth, small-town Kansas upbringing. The weight of that balance, and the difficulty of trying to decide where Clark belongs, gives the film’s plot a new emotional core.

Veteran David Corenswet, who has appeared in recent series like Pearl and Hollywood, steps into the title role as a 25-year-old Superman. At this age, he is, by all appearances, more worldly-wise and weathered than the doe-eyed innocent hero of many prior tales. The duality of Corenswet’s Clark Kent/Superman double act is on clear display in his interplay with Lois Lane.

Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) plays Lois Lane, a brassy dame with a sharp tongue and zero time for pleasantries. The trailer opens with Lois in full interrogation mode: “Superman”, as played by… Clark Kent is taking part in what Lois has already made abundantly clear is a PR-heavy, live-streamed fake interview. Lois is both coming on to and elbowing back at Superman/Kent the whole time, and it’s hard to say if or when he finally just breaks and tells her the truth about who he is. Lois has a bit of a reputation among some sections of the audience, both here and in previous installments, for knowing Superman’s secret identity. Others, including this reviewer, find her acting too cagey and the two leads’ facial expressions too telling: We know she doesn’t know, yet. Either way, Brosnahan and Corenswet’s banter and hostility add up to a sweet-natured core around which the rest of the DC film appears to hinge.

Nicholas Hoult, another fresh face for the cast, is reportedly suiting up to play longtime Superman villain Lex Luthor. The trailer certainly gives Luthor’s sinister corporate brooding a nice spin on the ol’ “wink wink, I’m so evil I’m secretly charismatic” meme. He’s not alone. Playing Eve Teschmacher, his personal assistant and in-film love interest, is model Sara Sampaio. Terence Rosemore, meanwhile, is on hand as Luthor’s general right-hand thug, Otis.

Krypto, Kaiju, and More From the DC Universe

No, he isn’t. You heard that right. One breakout performance already might just go to the real superhero of the trailer: Superman’s white superdog, Krypto. We first saw him in last December’s teaser, when he pulled a motionless and severely injured Superman back to the Fortress of Solitude on the end of his powerful teeth. The trailer doubles down, with Krypto seen fighting Luthor and one high-tech bigwig villainess, a.k.a. The Engineer, to a standstill. Maria Gabriela de Faria plays Angela Spica/The Engineer. She wears a full-body suit of black spandex and rotates rows of razor-edged blades as she tries to assault the Fortress. Made of micro-scaled nanotech and designed to cut through just about anything organic, Spica’s core of deadly blades is poised to have some old-fashioned, bone-on-flesh fun with Clark.

This is not to say there is a dearth of spectacle. In between the near-constant wall-to-wall carnage, glimpses of kaiju and double and triple team-ups in classic DC Comics fashion, the movie also sets up a gaggle of lesser-known but just-as-charming DC characters. Nathan Fillion is seen cosplaying Guy Gardner, the bowl-cut-haired Green Lantern. Anthony Carrigan is Rex Mason/Metamorpho, a shapeshifting elementalist who can weaponize his cells to match elements like metal or fire. Isabela Merced is on hand as Hawkgirl, and Edi Gathegi takes on the Michael Holt/Mister Terrific identity, a former tech genius who employs his gifts in the service of crime-fighting justice in a head-to-toe body suit.

One of those lesser-known faces for fans will be Milly Alcock, who plays Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El, better known to some as Supergirl, in the film. Expect more hints of the rest of the Kryptonian family. On the part of Clark’s Kansas-based “Earth parents” are Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell as Jonathan and Martha Kent.

DC Fans Who Follow Comics May Recall a Pair of Familiar Faces

DC Comics fans will also get a sneak peek at one more Superman crossover courtesy of Frank Grillo, who is making a return to his Creature Commandos animated series role as Rick Flag Sr. Another new addition is Sean Gunn, who plays the costumed, brainy, and vengeful Maxwell Lord.

Heroism vs Humanity

The trailer is loaded with Superman jumping from rooftops to blowing the hinges off giant, city-sized robots. Yet, the part of Superman’s inner journey that looms largest—right from the jump—is balancing his superhero work with the oft-crabby reality of the naysayers and ‘realists’ he flies over every day. When Lois asks if Superman has thought about how other people—like the U.S. Secretary of Defense—feel about his approach to crimefighting and interventionism, an incredulous Clark shouts back, “People were going to die!”

On the other hand, this is not all doom and gloom. Moments of grace, levity, and warmth are here in spades as well. The film’s trailer at least ends on an affirming, downbeat moment: Superman has his fists balled up, eyes tightly shut in concentration, ears back on his bed, knees hiked up, having just come off a mission. Except he isn’t alone. A pleased, panting Krypto has made himself comfortable, sprawling about contentedly on Clark’s chest as he finally gets some rest. Superman is a hell of a superhero. But maybe what matters most, with Gunn’s directing choices in mind, is that Superman also has friends.