‘I have got the biggest smile on my face right now:’ There’s one clear star of the new Superman trailer

The new trailer for James Gunn’s Superman is out! This movie is set to kick off a new DC cinematic universe and it’s looking pretty good so far. It showed us plenty of Superman (newcomer David Corenswet), Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), plus a few other superheroes. There were brief glimpses of Green Lantern, played by frequent Gunn collaborator Nathan Fillion, Hawkgirl as played by Isabela Merced, and Mr Terrific as played by Ed Gathegi.

But all those people, even Superman himself, played second fiddle to the true star of the trailer. I speak of course of Krypto the Superdog.

Krypto has been Superman’s loyal buddy since 1955. Here’s a quick catchup of his comics history: He was sent to Earth as a test for the technology that would later take baby Kal-El to safety, and later caught up with the teenage Clark Kent on his adopted homeworld. He’s basically part of a more innocent age of superhero comics, where they were far more superpowered animals around than there are now. He doesn’t really fit into the more “gritty” takes on Superman, such as Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.

So he’s never actually been in a live-action movie. He did sort-of pop up in Smallville in the guise of Shelby, Clark Kent’s briefly superpowered dog, and again in the series Titans and Superman and Lois, but his main domain is animation. He had an animated series to himself in 2005, and was voiced by Dwayne Johnson in the animated movie DC League of Super-Pets.

As to who is playing him in Superman, it seems the identity of that doggie actor is being kept under wraps for now. But his appearance in the trailer was a great showcase as to why Krypto is one of the most beloved fictional dogs of all time. At the beginning of the trailer, Superman lies battered and bleeding in the snow… until Krypto appears. “Krypto, home. Take me home,” asks Superman, and Krypto obliges. He’s a very, very good boy.

And audiences think so too. Everyone is oohing and ahhing over the cuteness and competence of Superman’s pet doggo.

2025 may be the year that Krypto stops being a currency and starts being the universe’s best dog. Hopefully the merch for this movie will include at least one Krypto plushie to hug.