‘Superman’ Director James Gunn Shares First Look At Krypto The Superdog Inspired By His Own Rescue Dog

Krypto, the Superdog of DC Comics, will appear in James Gunn‘s upcoming Superman movie, his first appearance in a live-action film, thanks to Ozu, Gunn’s own canine best friend.

In a touching post on social media, Gunn described how his own rescue pup inspired him to include the character in the upcoming film set for release on July 11, 2025.

“Krypto was inspired by our dog Ozu, who we adopted shortly after I started writing Superman,” Gunn wrote in a post on X. “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 then remembers 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,” he continues. “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.”

The first look at the character in a motion image (see below and photo above) shows David Corenswet’s Superman sitting on the moon alongside Krypto looking out at Earth.

Krypto the Superdog first appeared in 1955 in Adventure Comics #210 and appeared in numerous animated series and films, but never before in a live-action film. The self-titled Krypto the Superdog animated series starring the canine superhero premiered on Cartoon Network in 2005 and aired on The CW’s Saturday morning block Kids’ WB from September 23, 2006, until September 15, 2007.

In the series, Krypto was Superman’s pet puppy on Krypton before being sent into space before the planet was destroyed. Upon landing on Earth he is a fully grown dog who has similar abilities to those of Superman. Krypto is adopted by 9-year-old Kevin Whitney, whose family thinks Krypto is an ordinary Labrador retriever. But the canine dons the secret identity “Superdog” when he performs heroic deeds and fights evil. Other than Kevin, the only person who knows Krypto’s secret is bratty cousin Bailey, who lies so often that nobody believes his talk about the dog’s powers.

Gunn’s Superman follows the superhero of the same name as he looks to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.

In addition to Corenswet in the title role, the upcoming film’s cast includes Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer. The ensemble includes Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, Sean Gunn, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Isabel Merced, and Nathan Fillion.

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, sponsored by American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.