James Gunn Confirms 'Superman' Has Krypto the Superdog, With His Own Dog’s Influence
James Gunn Confirms 'Superman' Has Krypto the Superdog, With His Own Dog’s Influence
It’s a good good time for good good boys
Superman’s best friend is officially off to the new DC Universe. In what I could swear was already confirmed but a bit more offhandedly, James Gunn confirmed on his socials Tuesday that Krypto the Superdog will appear in his written and directed Superman, the first film of the DC Universe. While it makes sense, Krypto is present in the source material for the next film, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, set rather isolatedly in space where the good boy is Kara’s only companion, so maybe he’s adapted out in this version. Variety believes he’s still part of it however.
The confirmation came as October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, giving Gunn an opportunity to detail how his rescue dog, Ozu, informed this iteration of the character. “Krypto arrives on screens in Superman this summer,” Gunn wrote. “Krypto was inspired by our dog Ozu, who we adopted shortly after I started writing Superman. 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. I remember thinking, ‘Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?’ – and thus Krypto came into the script & changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life. What better time to debut the not-so-good-good-boy Krypto than #AdoptAShelterDog month. Btw, Ozu today, is, fairly often, a very good boy.” This all accompanied a first look of Superman, played by David Corenswet, with his Krypto in a motion image, along with images of Ozu. The image is below.
As Gunn reminded a Threads user, Krypto is historically a generic white dog, sometimes also a labrador, white shepherd, husky, or Dalmatian. However as a Kryptonian species of what we would consider a “dog” he only in-universe resembles such Earth breeds and thus could also resemble others too so it’s not really beholden to any. Though originally at least the resemblances to Earth species were explained as straight analogues thanks to parallel evolution. When in action, Krypto wears a gold collar and red cape to match his owner. He’s also just as powered with super strength, intelligence and senses, and can sometimes speak like a human.
The character created by Otto Binder and Curt Swan debuted in Adventure Comics #210, dated March 1955, having been sent in a pod prior to baby Kal-El. However, like Kara, his pod was sent off course and doesn’t reach Earth until Kal-El is the teenage Superboy. Because Krypto’s presence in the beloved DC Animated Universe, at least its reality, is relegated to the Krypton scenes of Superman: The Animated Series’s first episode “The Last Son of Krypton” part 1, his most well-known iteration was from the Krypto the Superdog animated series developed by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini. Running from 2005 to 2006 for two seasons and 39 episodes, a mistake involving sleeping gas while in his pod as a puppy took him out long enough that he awoke fully-grown, and so was Kal-El, by then an experienced Superman. He is voiced by Sam Vincent and is adopted outside of the Kent family. The character’s first theatrical starring role was in the animated DC League of Super-Pets, voiced by Dwayne Johnson during his attempt to change the hierarchy of the DC Universe in 2022. He also co-stars in what is currently the last direct-to-video Scooby-Doo! movie Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!, released last year.
Superman, set for release on July 11, 2025, has a huge ensemble with Corenswet being just the very start. It includes Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant and Christopher MacDonald as Ron Troupe. Additional heroes include Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho aka Rex Mason. There’s also Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Neva Howell and Pruitt Taylor Vince home in Smallville as Ma and Pa Martha and Jonathan Kent, María Gabriela De Faría as Angela Spica, The Engineer, Terence Rosemore as Otis, and Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher. It seems that Krypto will be appearing in both the Smallville and Metropolis eras of the narrative. Milly Alcock is all but confirmed to debut as Supergirl here, while Frank Grillo reprises his role as Rick Flag Sr.. Alan Tudyk also has an undisclosed role.
