The generous teaser trailer for Superman, written and directed by James Gunn, has finally arrived, and you can bet that everyone has strong opinions about it, good and bad. Here’s a quick rundown of the current buzz online.
As far as first looks go, this one, from my personal point of view, feels quite classical and uplifting. It’s also the rare sort of trailer that doesn’t reveal a lot about the actual plot and character dynamics. That said, we’re fully expecting future promo material to be bolder in its approach to selling us on the story and characters. This kind of vibes-based preview is exactly what the people needed right now, especially when it’s so openly hopeful and the direct opposite to the now-deceased DCEU’s plans for Kal-El/Clark Kent.
Let’s start with the words of praise first. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the online noise seems to be positive following this first trailer, mainly because Gunn has earned the audiences’ trust over a decade now with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy (and a great Holiday Special), The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and Creature Commandos. Even when he explores darker themes and plot elements, he remains hopeful and poignant at the end of the day. This Superman reboot appears to be doubling down on that, and it’s also a good exercise for the filmmaker after dealing with bloodier affairs in his other recent works at the DC camp (which he now helms alongside Peter Safran).
“This is straight up a comicbook come to life. Superman nation, we won,” writes ClarkQuill97 on Twitter. As you can infer from the username, this user is big on Superman and probably had high hopes. So far, they’re satisfied.
Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane is algo gaining tons of stans, even after just one trailer:
Massive comic book fan account PridefulSin is also sold on the movie due to the special focus put on Superman actually saving and inspiring people. These are the sort of big voices you want to convince with a first look:
“Krypto is gonna put asses in seats,” predicts illustrator Dan Veesenmeyer. He’s probably right. People love a good boy. “I have got the biggest smile on my face right now,” added gaming figure Ultima. It’s definitely a clear mission statement to kick your comic book adaptation universe with a super dog with a cape!
On the cinephile side of things, buzz seems to be positive for the most part, with users praising the fact Superman is back to being an innocent boy scout instead of a bipolar alien. I kinda liked what Zack Snyder was going for, but that was the kind of stuff you tried to adapt after doing this, not before! “Oh, so this is an actual Superman movie and not an edgy mess.” Even ‘Out of Context Simpsons Couch Gags’ chimed in.
Of course, not everyone is happy with a lighter (both thematically and visually) approach to the character, and some raised valid concerns about some scenes looking a bit too ‘made for TV’ (we must remember the movie has just entered post-production though). “I’m not going to be an idiot and claim it looks like a “fake movie” but this is not matching the quality level I was expecting,” expressed ComicAccuracy with a mild take.
BroBible’s Eric Italiano also wanted to like what he was seeing, but is “concerned by the aesthetic” and tried to put it into words diplomatically:
Other people haven’t been as kind:
You get the idea by now. Some folks are digging the vibes and others aren’t, maybe because they’re still fighting for the ‘SnyderVerse’ or just because they’d rather have a different, more adult take on the character. The beauty of comic books, especially when it comes to legendary characters like Superman (who has been around for a very very long time) is that so many approaches to the character are equally valid. Gunn’s iteration is simply bringing back some of the Silver Age style, and should his DCU be successful and advance, I’m fairly sure the characters and tone would evolve as well.
Regardless of what you think about the trailer and the movie, we all can agree that Krypto alone might make it a box office success and are hoping he isn’t hurt by evil businessman Lex Luthor. Everything else is up in the air and will be until the movie opens on July 11, 2025.
