Fun With YouTube - Superman Teaser Trailer
What if a teaser trailer was also a mission statement?
There is a new Superman movie coming out in 2025. This is a film in which I am, shall we say, somewhat invested. I adore the original 1978 Superman: The Movie. It is, in fact, my favourite ever film. The 1980 sequel, Superman II? Also, very excellent and fun, what with all the Zod-kneeling chat and Niagara Falls tomfoolery.
Since then?
Ummmm… not so much on the good Superman movie front. The last two Christopher Reeve movies fell away faster than a journalist falling out of a helicopter. Superman Returns in 2006 had the good sense to ignore those latter two movies, but the bad sense to not come up with any fresh story beats whatsoever, simply rehashing the first two films.
Then, of course, came Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013. I have complicated thoughts on the whole DC Snyderverse that I’ll delve into some other time. But my thoughts on Man of Steel in particular can be best summed up in one opinion-defining burst of incredulity: ‘Wait. He just let Pa Kent get twistered??’ I’m not sure I ever recovered from that moment. (Come at me, Snyder bros.)
And now, it’s James Gunn’s turn. Now, I’m wary of Gunn. I didn’t like the Guardians of the Galaxy movies as much as everynerdy else seemed to. His The Suicide Squad had moments that tickled me (Starro, man? Bless you for that) but more moments that didn’t. I am, you might say, in favour of Gunn control.
Nevertheless, he is (at the time of writing this, at least) the man in charge of DC’s cinematic reboot. And, so, when the teaser trailer dropped, I watched it closely. And I have thoughts. Because I think more than anything else it’s a fun mission statement.
(Yes, I know the teaser trailer dropped four months ago, and there have been other trailers and sneak footage since. But the teaser trailer was the first glimpse into Gunn’s Superman, and indeed, Gunn’s DC. So it’s important on that level. Let’s take a look.)
The first thing we see is Supes crashing into the Arctic ice, near the Fortress of Solitude. He’s defeated. He’s struggling to breathe. He’s an absolute mess.
This is the Superman (and DC) that Gunn was left with. A broken, battered hero (and accompanying cinematic universe), beaten up by the box office and the critics alike.
We zoom in to take a closer look at the cinematic damage that was inflicted, before cutting to Clark Kent, fighting his way through the Metropolis crowd.
This is pointed, right? We didn’t get the glasses-wearing, Daily Planet-reporting version of Clark in Man of Steel until the very end of the movie. (Although, to be fair, Lois ending that movie with the line ‘welcome to the Planet’ was perfection.) So, Gunn jumping immediately to the mild-mannered Clark is the first inkling that this will be a different version of Superman to the most recent one.
(Is Clark struggling through the crowd some kind of symbolic reference to the need for this movie to fight its way past all the other superhero movies out there? And is him standing taller than that crowd also symbolic? Look, I wouldn’t go that far, but if you want to go there, I’m not going to stop you.)
Then we cut back to Superman, still battered and bruised. It’s going to take more than the return of Clark Kent for him to recover his cinematic glory.
What else does Gunn need to call upon?
How about some nostalgia for those beloved original Superman films? Because the next thing we cut to is Gunn’s name in the font made famous by those movies.
Oh, and if that wasn’t enough of a nostalgia hit, we also begin to hear the classic John Williams Superman theme.
Then it’s time for Gunn to show us Lois and Clark at the Daily Planet.
This is a classic Lois. Cool, self-assured, sizing up the big lug from Smallville. And look at David Corenswet, channelling his best Reevesque Clark with the crouched posture.
Great stuff. Very reminiscent of the Reeve and Margot Kidder Clark and Lois dynamic. Honestly, with only minor changes (monitors to typewriters, computer mice to ashtrays) this could be slotted seamlessly into the original Superman movie.
We then cut to the Kent farm, with Clark and Pa Kent having a serious discussion about something or other and hugging it out, as the Superman theme music powers on.
I don’t know about you, but this feels very much like a Clark who wouldn’t just let his adopted father wander aimlessly into a tornado for no good reason. (And no, keeping your superpowers a secret isn’t a good reason.)
But as evocative as all of this is for an earlier era of Superman, Gunn is about to let us know that he’s not going to fall into the Superman Returns nostalgia-fest trap, either. We already have hints that he’s got something else up his sleeve, because that Williams’ Superman March that’s been backing these early clips? It’s being played on an electric fucken guitar, if you can believe such a thing.
But Gunn’s going to summon even more modern elements than a wailing axe for this new version of Superman. Starting now. Because, after whistling for assistance and a cut to the sight of something barreling through the snow to his aid, we see the words ‘It begins’, still in the classic font.
And begin it does. Because now here’s something we’ve never previously seen in a Superman movie.
It’s Krypto the Superdog.
“Home,” pleads Supes. “Take me home.”
And Krypto, a very good boy, takes cape in mouth and begins to do just that, dragging his owner through the snow. (Yes, yes, we see a different side of Krypto in later trailers - I’m just talking about what we see here in this first one.)
But where is home for this version of Superman?
Well, that’s revealed in the very next scene of the teaser, which shows him protecting a child from an explosion.
Yes. This Superman is most at home using his abilities to save innocent bystanders. (As opposed to, y’know, crashing through skyscrapers like an absolute bloody maniac.) Rescuing somebody is the first thing we see him do with his powers in the trailer, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the moment also embraces Snyder’s go-to trick of slo-mo action scene footage.
Sure, later in the trailer we’ll see Supes fighting all kind of foes. But primarily this is a Superman who helps people. (And, yeah, my eyes misted up at this point in the trailer. What of it?)
Oh, and we’ve had enough of the electric guitar theme by now too. This is now full classic brass fanfare theme. The trailer is telling you that Superman - the proper Superman - is back.
We therefore immediately cut to our first shot of Lex Luthor, who is utterly furious at just the sight of this updated Superman.
And not just furious. That contemptuous sneer reeks of scepticism about this version of Superman.
So Gunn’s next scene counters that scepticism with the optimism of another child, calling for Superman’s help as he raises a flag with his symbol on it. Gunn is literally planting his flag that this is the Superman we need in 2025.
And that’s the mission statement in a nutshell. There will be naysayers…
(I mean, look at this dickhead throwing a can at Supes.)
But the remaining thirty seconds of the teaser trailer is Gunn’s rapid-fire summary of what this Superman and this film will offer - lots of new foes to fight (a weird dragon thing, some dude tackling him through a stadium, Solaris the Tyrant Sun (?)), lots of new friends to help (Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Mr Terrific), lots of smooching with Lois (in a kitchen, in a museum (?)) - with the crowd chanting ‘Superman! Superman! Superman!’ in the background.
Will these chanting supporters ultimately be satisfied by the final product?
Who knows. Like I said, I’m a Gunn sceptic. The movie could still be an unholy mess. But Superman’s stylised S has, for many decades now, been defined as a Kryptonian symbol of hope.
So, hey, let’s hope, huh?