How the Superman trailer sets up James Gunn’s new DC universe

The trailer for 2025’s “Superman” was released today and it’s an incredible holiday gift. Not only does it build even more anticipation for the already-anticipated film by presenting Kal-El’s adventures in a way that feels nostalgic and unique, but it’s also one of the most well-edited trailers in the past. year. One of the trailer’s most surprising decisions is to omit the film’s title card at the end, a decision that recognizes Superman’s power within pop culture, as well as generating more hype for the film.

However, that’s not to say that the trailer doesn’t end with any sort of title card. Just before a card announcing that the film is “filmed for IMAX” and will be released in July of next year, the trailer ends with the DC Studios logo, a reminder that “Superman” is Warner Bros.’ theatrical debut. . and The new adventure of the shared cinematic universe of DC Comics (the animated series “Creature Commandos” marks the beginning of the universe on television). However, the placement of the logo card appears to serve a dual purpose: by delaying it from the beginning (where logo cards usually appear) and placing it at the end, where a title card would normally go in a trailer, it appears that This “Superman” teaser also doubles as an announcement trailer for the DC Studios Universe proper. It’s another bold choice from writer-director James Gunn, who oversees the DCSU (maybe that acronym will stick?) with Peter Safran, and presents “Superman” as a new watershed moment for DC Comics characters on screen.

To be fair, there is a “putting the cart before the horse” feel to the trailer, if we take the latest DC Studios card as any indication of the clip being an advertisement for DCSU. WB and DC have been here before, of course, as the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), which ran from 2013 to 2023, struggled to reach the heights (shared universe and otherwise) that the Marvel Studios Cinematic Universe has. As anyone from a geek expert to a professional critic will tell you, one of the biggest problems the DCEU had was trying to do too much too soon, making a major team-up movie with “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” before Gal . Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck’s Batman had fully established themselves on screen. The film, and many of the ones that followed in the DCEU, had their own problems beyond building a cinematic universe, but it didn’t help that the studio seemed overly eager to have their cake before it was fully baked.

That goes double for Universal’s proposed “Dark Universe,” which, unlike the DCEU, ended after the release of just one film, 2017’s “The Mummy.” While the film itself didn’t contain too many teases for future films ( only featured Russell Crowe’s Dr. Henry Jekyll as the Dark Universe’s answer to Nick Fury), there was an infamous photo shoot with the proposed stars of the future Dark. In-universe movies that stand as the only other shared universe medium since no more movies were ever made. Even more so than “Batman v Superman,” the Dark Universe’s proposed and abandoned plans exist as Hollywood’s biggest caveat when it comes to kick-starting a shared universe.

However, “Superman” and its status as DC Studios’ point of origin seem to avoid this problem in a fairly simple way: while other projects in the shared universe have been publicly discussed, Gunn and Safran are not announcing a massive multi-year release. Plan for future movies a la Marvel or the DCEU. In this way, “Superman” could be a bit of the best of both worlds, promising future characters without insisting on any set plan.

Unlike the literal failure that was the Dark Universe, the DCEU plodded along for a decade, aided by a few films that act as bright spots within its cinematic universe. Despite these highs, the DCEU never merged in a similar way to the MCU, and that’s partly because WB and the people behind the DCEU never seemed to have a clear vision of where the DCEU should be headed. Retroactively starting with Zach Snyder’s “Man of Steel” immediately put the universe on an uneven footing, as Snyder’s 2013 film was intended to be a deconstructionist take on Superman, similar to the out-of-continuity “Dark Knight” trilogy. ” by Christopher Nolan. Thus, “Batman v Superman” and “Justice League,” the immediate sequels to “Man of Steel,” found themselves trying to honor that brave take, warts and all, while trying to establish a more traditional foundation. for DC. heroes in the future. It was an awkward mix and left many of the other spin-off films feeling either too similar to these “flagship” films or uncomfortably separate from them.

Things only got worse when the DCEU attempted to follow the MCU into a “multiverse” era. “Zach Snyder’s Justice League,” while it came about thanks to fan demand and the behind-the-scenes issues surrounding the theatrical version of “Justice League,” only further confused the proceedings in what regards continuity, seemingly splitting the DCEU into two branches. of canon that could have tried to coexist. Last year’s “The Flash” attempted to tie everything together into a tidy arc, similar to Crisis or Flashpoint, by having Barry Allen break into the multiverse. Once again, however, the film seemed too desperate to reach for cameos and liven up moments instead of letting things develop naturally. It’s likely that because of all this confusion over tone, direction and continuity, Gunn and Safran are eager to hit the reset button on “Superman” and hopefully the film is the new beginning that the trailer seems to promise.

Of course, it’s not possible to know what the full effect of a film will be from a trailer alone. However, Gunn says a lot of very good things about his film and its ethos when it comes to DC Studios, and this, combined with the trailer, makes it seem like his comments are well-founded. At a “Superman” trailer launch event I attended on Monday, Gunn was asked about the DC Studios logo dropping at the end of the trailer, and he admitted it was both an instinctive and calculated decision:

“But it’s also like you have to follow your gut and what feels right to you. And I had a few people around me, including Peter Safran, who I could trust with his guts, and mine, who seems to be the, I have the most narrow-minded, which means I’m the one who likes the least amount of things when they’re together, so it seems to have worked.”

Even more encouraging is Gunn’s attitude toward future DCSU films beyond “Superman.” During a visit to the Superman set, Gizmodo’s Germain Lussier asked Gunn about plans beyond this first film, and the filmmaker was surprisingly honest:

“A lot of things (depend on ‘Superman’). I mean, we’re not going to keep making movies.”

This first trailer already promises a more gregarious approach to the shared universe than “BvS”, with characters like Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Mr. Terrific having their moments while the clip makes it clear that the protagonists of the film are Superman. , Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, and not many other heroes vying for the spotlight from the start. Hopefully the final film proves this to be true. One thing’s for sure: For both the film itself and DC Studios, the “Superman” trailer gives us a lot of hope.