James Gunn's Superman Movie To Include The Bestest Good Boy

Superhero comics are f***ing crazy. Creators can kind of do whatever they want in those paneled pages laden with capes and tights. They can tell stories of a man who patrols the dark streets of Gotham City, but also goes toe-to-toe with an imp super-fan from the 5th dimension. A young boy can merely obscure his face but not change his voice and people will still assume he’s a grown man. A blatant criminal turned xenophobic attacks into a successful run at the Presidency of the United States (okay, maybe comics aren’t that farfetched). Superhero comics are perfect for unfettered imagination, but their adaptations have shied away from that.

Yes, fantastical things still occur in superhero movies. They have for decades. Hell, the 1978 Superman film ends with him flying around the Earth at super speed to make it go back in time. There’s no attempt at an explanation. He does it because he’s Superman. Since Batman Begins, many superhero movies have attempted to make things more “realistic.” It doesn’t matter that we’re dealing with things that straight up do not exist, studios and creatives have tried to ground the characters in reality. The results have been hit-and-miss.

This isn’t a problem for any one company. All of them have produced films that try to ground things in our reality. There are certainly exceptions, but those are few and far between. There has been a lack of bright colors, earnest absurdity, and crimefighting pets. James Gunn looks to change all of that when he brings Superman back to the big screen next year, and he’s bringing along the best animal for the job.

We have already seen that Gunn’s DCU will lean into the color of comic books. We saw that already with his take on Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy films are the most comic-accurate of the MCU (not that comic accuracy is necessary for adaptations, mind you). The GOTG films also gave us talking pets. So, it made sense when Gunn took to social media yesterday to announce that Krypto the super dog would be appearing in his new Superman film.

Not only will Gunn bring the fan-favorite character to life on the big screen but he will also take inspiration from his own life. “Krypto was inspired by our dog Ozu, who we adopted shortly after I started writing Superman,” Gunn explained. “Ozu, who came from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs & never knew human beings, was problematic to say the least. He immediately came in & destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture — he even ate my laptop. It took a long time before he would even let us touch him.”

Gunn went on to muse about how much more difficult it would be if Ozu had superpowers and thus the idea of including Krypto was born. The announcement and accompanying picture further cement the tone of Gunn’s upcoming film. Superman looks as though it will be a fun, adventurous, maybe even family-friendly affair. He recently teased the idea that a trailer could appear before the end of the year, and I’ll be waiting like a dog with a leash.

Post by @jamesgunn

View on Threads