It seems as though my last blog post was in regard to the first Superman trailer. Either I don't post enough, or I must really like Superman. I think it's a lot of both. Today the newest trailer for James Gunn's Superman movie dropped online. This film will help kick off the new DC Comics shared TV & film universe; or DCU. A lot is riding on this film. Gunn is not only directing the film but is also head of DC Studios along with Peter Safran. The ending of the DCEU left a lot of fans disappointed as the films slowly made less and less money. This film has to bring back "hope" for the DC characters, and in the DC brand. It has to silence the Snyder fans who think this movie sucks before they even see it. It has to be good enough to help make the next film, Supergirl, a success. And it has to help Warner Bros get out of the financial hole it's in. Everyone is counting on the Man of Steel to save the day.
As this trailer opens, we see Lois interviewing Clark as Superman. We know this film isn't an origin story, but I'm curious if Lois knows Clark's secret identity when the film starts. They discuss a situation where Superman stopped a war, but not everyone is happy about it. This idea was present in the DCEU as well, most notably Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Superman wants to help people, but in the modern political landscape a person cannot just cross borders and do as they like, regardless of how many people they save. Clark seems to be upset that Lois is pressing him, but I think we all know Lois is just trying to prove a point as to how some people see him.
This also makes me think about other shots like Rick Flagg Sr. and members of The Authority arresting Superman. The most interesting shot in the trailer to me is Superman being beaten in a cell with Metamorpho behind him. We also see another person in the cell next to them, and another view shows many cells. My guess is that any metahuman who doesn't want to take orders from the government is in a cell. So, I can only dream of all the DC characters that are in there!
We see Lex and the Engineer enter the Fortress of Solitude and destroy some robots and get into a fight with Krypto. So God help me, if anything happens to that dog!! I'm curious to know who the guy in the golden armor is. With some kind of blast, that might be heat vision, he could possibly be another Kryptonian, whether he/she is from this reality, I can't say.
We get a few shots of his parents, Ma and Pa Kent, who were probably the most lackluster part of the trailer for me. I'm used to Smallville's John Schneider and Annette O'Toole being a big part of Clark's story. I think they'll serve their purpose, but maybe not a big part in the film. I also don't think either of them will die, at least in this movie.
We see shots of Cat Grant taking a selfie during a fight, Jimmy and Clark messing around, and Guy Gardner bitch slapping some soldiers. Remember, this film takes place in world that superheroes have been around for a while, and most have become cynical. Superman is coming in to show them the light and bring hope to the world. Another shot shows a citizen coming to help Superman after he fell out of the sky, perhaps inspiring people to help others.
The part of the trailer that hook me was when he said "Hey, eyes up here," and took off. While Superman isn't a funny guy, he likes to keep things light. One of my pros for the theatrical version of Justice League was Superman post-resurrection. He had a happy attitude instead of brooding. As he said, he "liked being alive." This also makes me think Superman was trying to get the bad guy away from people where they could be hurt, another thing the DCEU never really addressed.
A big thing this trailer told me is what James Gunn has said, this film is very much focused on Superman AND Lois. Rachel Brosnahan and David Corsenswet's chemistry looks like it'll be good. We just had four seasons of show about Superman and Lois, and it ended too soon in my opinion. We heard John William's theme, and even got the classic Superman fonts swooshing in to let us know July 11 is gonna be awesome!!!
