I figured I wait a bit before I jot down my thoughts on James Gunn’s Superman trailer. Now that everybody has seen it and the first impressions are out of the way, let’s take a deep dive into the footage. Note: There will likely be SPOILERS in what follows.
I’ll start off by stating the Superman trailer is not what I expected at all from James Gunn. I gave Gunn the benefit of the doubt with that first-look image released (see above) which didn’t do anything to make me excited for the DCU. It definitely wasn’t impressive. If anything, it did just the opposite. It turned me off. However, I figured Gunn knew what he was doing, and the image did get a lot of attention, which isn’t a bad thing. The second image featuring Superman and Krypto on the moon is at least better.
Following that image, Gunn released a motion-poster of David Corenswet with a tease of John Murphy’s music score which uses the John Williams Christopher Reeve theme. I love it. The poster shows Corenswet taking to the skies. It’s hopeful. It’s majestic. It’s Superman. Looks awesome.
Then a 30-second spot was also released which got me further excited for the official trailer. It features people looking up to the skies with Corenswet flying through the air. The spot also features the same score. Again, it’s perfect.
Then the trailer dropped. WTF. What happened? I don’t like it. I actually don’t like any of it. I don’t even like Krypto. The trailer is the opposite of hope. It’s depressing. Everyone in it is miserable. All the costumes look really bad. Like really bad.
So the trailer starts with David Corenswet’s Man of Steel crashing in the arctic. He’s bleeding?! WTF! Who could do that to Superman?! Doomsday?! Credit to DC Comics Superman artist Shane Davis who immediately thought it was Kryptonite poisoning. Davis is likely right. More on that below.
So I don’t like how Superman is gasping and wheezing. Then they cut to the goofy AF Clark Kent, and you can still hear it. I hate the way Clark looks. Zack Snyder did Clark way better. Clark wasn’t a f’n nerd. Christopher Reeve also does it a lot better. Corenswet looks like a serial killer. He looks like f’n Jeffrey Dahmer. I think looking that way would make Clark even come off as more suspicious. “Look at this big goofy guy serial killer mother fker, what’s up with him?” Looks awful.
So as pointed out by DC Comics artist Ethan Van Sciver, why does the black dude extra have his hand on the one guy? Looks weird. Gunn needs to go over this stuff with a fine tooth comb. It doesn’t look right and shouldn’t be there.
Again, Superman is wheezing through the whole thing. We pan back to him and he’s a bloody mess.
The screen goes black and enter the “Superman John Williams fanfare on electric guitar.” It’s horrible. I hate it.
We cut to the Daily Planet. We’re shown Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. She looks fine to me. No complaints there.
We’re again shown Corenswet as Clark. Honestly, he looks like he’s on the spectrum. More of the crappy ass electric guitar John Williams score.
Next, we’re taken to Smallville at the Kent Farm house. It looks nothing like any of the other Kent Farm houses we’ve seen before. There is an emotional scene between Clark and Pa Kent. I’m guessing either Ma Kent has died or Pa Kent tells Clark he is dying of cancer. I just rewatched Man of Steel, I sure as f’k hope Superman doesn’t sit there and watch Pa Kent die if he can save him. Corenswet’s Clark actually looks pretty good here. His hair looks normal, and of course he’s not wearing Jeffrey Dahmer’s glasses.
More of the crappy ass electric guitar John Williams score. We’re then taken back to the arctic. Superman whistles for help. He calls Krypto. I do like this scene overall. Of course since Gunn loves animals, it’s the best scene of the trailer. However, I don’t like the breed of dog. Gunn based it on a mutt he found or something. More self-inject. It’s not working for Creature Commandos. Krypto also looks like a Muppet. Why is his left ear stuck up like that? I also do like when Superman tells Krypto to take him home, and Krypto pulls Superman by the cape. Nice touch.
From there the music featuring the full orchestra starts to play. It’s okay. I think it sounds a bit too slow. We’re shown that scene where Superman saves the little girl as the kaiju steps down. Looks good.
Next we go to LuthorCorps. Sorry, I’m not feeling Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. He doesn’t seem dangerous at all. He actually looks like a skinny dweeb. You want to watch a badass and dangerous Lex? Go watch Superman & Lois. Michael Cudlitz is awesome (as is Tyler Hoechlin, the best Superman since Reeve).
We’re shown LuthorCorps and some sort of sky bridge, so it seems as if LutherCorps might actually be two towers. Also if you zoom in, that’s actually María Gabriela de Faría’s The Engineer on the bridge. She’s shown in the theatrical cut of the trailer that leaked online.
I don’t like this next scene, either. It’s Lex with a gun. You can also hear some little kid say, “Superman.” Lex makes a goofy face. Again, not feeling Hoult as Lex. Regarding the gun, it just might house a kryptonite bullet, which ties into the start of the trailer. Recall that Gunn is skipping Superman’s origin and the DC universe already exists with heroes. That probably means people know that Superman is an alien from Krypton. So it’s not hard to assume Lex gets his hands on kryptonite and possibly shoots Superman.
The next scene is kind of confusing. Is Superman trapped in some sort of glass box? There are people looking at him (let me guess, Lex’s elitist friends)? Has he lost his powers because of the kryptonite, but then gets them back and is able to smash his way out.
From there we are taken to the fictional city of Boravia. Looks like a civil war is going on (more on that at the bottom of this article). Some kid is basically praying to Superman (I hate when they do that).
Next, we’re back in Metropolis. Superman gets pelted by a tin can for some reason. Recall the same thing happens to Henry in Man of Steel in Alaska at the restaurant. Also notice how Corenswet’s suit is charred or whatever. He looks miserable AF. He enters Stagg Industries for some reason. That ties to Metamorpho in a bit…
Now we get to the part I absolutely despise. It’s Nathan Fillion who looks beyond goofy as FK as Green Lantern Guy Gardner. Van Sciver is absolutely correct. Fillion looks NOTHING like Guy Gardner. He doesn’t even look like the Kevin Maguire version! He looks like complete ASS!!! And just because “it’s in the comics” doesn’t mean it’s any good. There is no reason to do this. No normal guy is going to have a goofy AF hair cut like this. He looks like a child molester. At the least, Gunn could have had Fillion wear his normal hair. It’s a COMPLETE MOCKERY on the part of Gunn. It’s another cosmic character that Gunn has ruined. Seriously, fuck this.
We’re shown a shot of Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl. She looks pretty cool. No complaints there.
We then are shown the full look of the Kaiju. I don’t like it. It looks too cute. Like a giant puppy. Go figure.
Then we are taken to the scene from that first-look image. It’s revealed the scene involves Lois Lane. We can see that cosmic thingey in the background. So in the first-look image, Superman looks like he is thinking “I gotta do this again?” as he puts his boots back on. Maybe he was about to get busy with Lois, and then that thing shows up. I’d be pissed too.
Then we’re shown Superman in the Fortress of Solitude. He’s crying this time. That droid is likely Kelex. It probably basically raised him in terms of his Kryptonian heritage. So the theatrical release of the trailer shows what appears to be Lex, The Engineer, and Ultraman entering the Fortress. Obviously, they are responsible for destroying Kelx. We’re shown more of the Fortress, which looks straight out of the Donner films.
Next, we get a look at Metamorpho. He looks okay. Not much to go on. You can see that his left shoulder (our right) is purple-colored, so that’s similar to the comics. The owner of Stagg Industries creates Metamorpho in the comics.
We cut to Metropolis where three buildings are crashing like dominoes. Looks to be related to that kaiju scene? Maybe not. See below.
Then we’re taken to what could be LuthorCorps and more from Hoult. He looks like someone just kicked his ass and he’s crying, too (lol). Again, I’m not feeling him as a threat at all. He looks like a bitch.
Back to the kid who is on TV. It’s revealed troops are amassing at the fictional city of Boravia.
We’re shown a scene with Superman using his strength, maybe pushing one of the buildings or a wall?
More from Krypto dragging the useless Superman through the snow (can he fly?).
Where’s Ultraman’s head???
Then we’re taken to Superman vs Ultraman. Yep, Ultraman looks horrible, too. These costumes look like they were bought at Party City.
Next we get a look at Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific. Looks cool enough.
I like the bubble and the T-spheres, too.
Those soldiers appear to be Lex’s soldiers (they’re wearing green and purple). We see there are civilians (wearing Hawaiian shirts???). This might be in Boravia. It might be something like a UN encampment, though I think the Cleveland set photos showed them to be LutherCorps tents.
More footage of Superman kissing Lois. Yawn.
Next we’re shown a pretty cool scene with Superman flying out of the fire. Likely from the kaiju battle.
Trailer ends with MORE of Superman and Lois. Bruh.
The Verdict
The Good: Krypto scenes are the best of the trailer. Is that saying much?
The Bad: Superman comes off as miserable. Everyone is miserable. There is no hope. No inspiration.
The Ugly: The look of Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner is unforgivable.
The Spoilers: Details from a newspaper article about the Boravia Superman incident have made their way online. Apparently, there is some sort of terrorist attack in Metropolis (maybe that’s the buildings crashing?). While some fans thought it was Gorilla Grodd, it doesn’t appear to be Grodd. Some fans think it’s The Adversary. That seems to be why the public turns against Superman. That’s what Lex wants. Lex is likely behind it. It’s also thought Lex is an arms dealer who is supplying weapons to Boravia. Superman stops the war. Lex isn’t happy.
I’ll finish and say this trailer isn’t a good introduction to Gunn’s Superman film or the DCU. Again, it’s completely hopeless which is a big criticism of the Zack Snyder films. The costumes look horrible. I’ve seen better cosplay at comic conventions. Hopefully the next trailer is a lot better. Honestly, this film will be lucky to crack $400 million by the looks of things right now. It has flop written all over it.
