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

The trailer for the 2025 “Superman” movie was released todayAnd it makes a great holiday gift. Not only does it build even more anticipation for the already highly anticipated film by presenting Kal-El’s adventures in a nostalgic and unique way, but it’s also one of the best-edited trailers in the past year. One of the most surprising choices in the trailer is to leave the film’s title card at the end, a decision that acknowledges Superman’s power in popular culture, as well as creating more hype for the film.

This doesn’t mean the trailer doesn’t end with some form of title card. Immediately before the card announcing that the film is “shot 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. DC Comics’ new shared cinematic universe project (The animated series “Creature Commandos” marks the beginning of the universe on television). The placement of the logo card seems to serve a dual purpose, but by delaying it from the beginning (where logo cards usually appear) and placing it at the end, where the title card usually appears in the trailer, it’s as if this teaser for “Superman” could also be used as a clip DC Studios Universe trailer. It’s another bold choice from writer/director James Gunn, who is helming DCSU (maybe that acronym will stick?) with Peter Safran, and presents “Superman” as a new make-or-break moment for DC Comics characters on screen.

To be fair, there’s a bit of a “putting the cart before the horse” feel to the trailer, if you take DC Studios’ late card drop as a nod to the clip as 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) reached by the Marvel Studios Cinematic Universe. As anyone from geek to professional critic will tell you, one of the biggest problems the DCEU has had is trying to do too much too soon, resulting in a big team-up movie with “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” before Gal Wonder Woman was established. For Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck’s Batman entirely on screen. The film, and many of the films that followed it in the DCEU, had their own issues aside from building a cinematic universe, but it didn’t help that the studio seemed so eager to get their cake before it was fully baked.

This goes double for Universal’s proposed “Dark Universe,” which, unlike the DCEU, ended after the release of one film, 2017’s “The Mummy.” Although the film itself didn’t contain much teaser for future films (only introducing Dr. Henry Jekyll (played by Russell Crowe as the Dark Universe’s answer to Nick Fury), there was an infamous photo shoot with the proposed stars of future Dark Universe films that represent the only other piece of media from the shared universe, as no other films were ever produced. Even more so than “Batman v Superman,” the proposed and abandoned Dark Universe plans exist as Hollywood’s biggest cautionary tale when it comes to starting a shared universe.

However, “Superman” and its status as DC Studios’ point of origin seem to sidestep this issue in a fairly simple way: while other projects in the shared universe have been publicly discussed, Gunn and Safran have yet to announce a massive multi-year release. Plan for future movies along the lines of Marvel or DCEU. In this way, “Superman” could be one of the best of both worlds, promising future characters to come without insisting on any specific plans.

Unlike the Dark Universe, which had no literal beginnings, the DCEU has been plodding along for a decade, with help Some films that act as bright spots in her cinematic universe. Despite these highs, the DCEU has never been integrated in a similar way to the MCU, partly because WB and the people behind the DCEU have never seemed to have a clear vision of where the DCEU should be headed. Starting retroactively with Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel,” it immediately put the universe on uneven footing, as Snyder’s 2013 film was intended to be a deconstruction of Superman, similar to Christopher Nolan’s out-of-continuity “Dark Knight” trilogy. Thus, “Batman v Superman” and “Justice League,” the direct follow-ups to “Man of Steel,” found themselves trying to honor that gritty, warts-and-all story while trying to create a more traditional foundation for DC. The heroes advance. This made for an uncomfortable mix and left many other spin-off films seeming either too close to or strangely disconnected from these “flagship” films.

Things got worse when the DCEU tried to follow the MCU into the “Multiverse” era. “Zach Snyder’s Justice League,” despite coming into existence thanks to fan demand and behind-the-scenes issues surrounding the theatrical version of “Justice League,” has only led to more muddled proceedings when it comes to continuity, seemingly dividing The DCEU has two branches of canon that may have tried to coexist. Last year’s “The Flash” tried to tie everything up into a neat Crisis or Flashpoint-like bow by having Barry Allen break into the multiverse. But once again, the movie showed up Too desperate to reach moments of relief and delight rather than 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 with “Superman,” and hopefully the film will be the fresh start that the trailer seems to promise.

Of course, it’s not possible to know the overall impact of a film just from a trailer. However, Gunn says a lot of awful good things about his film as well as his ethos when it comes to DC Studios, and that combined with the trailer makes it seem like his comments are justified. At the “Superman” trailer launch event I attended on Monday, Gunn was asked about dropping the DC Studios logo at the end of the trailer, and admitted it was as much an instinctive decision as it was a calculated one:

“But it’s also like you have to go with your gut and what you feel is right. And I had some people around me, including Peter Safran, who I could trust, and my courage, which seemed to be, I had the tightest sense of it.” . Courage, which means I’m the person who likes the least amount of things when they’re put together, so it seems like it worked out.”

What’s even more encouraging is Gunn’s stance toward more DCSU films past “Superman.” During his visit to the filming location of the Superman movie. Gizmodo’s Germain Lussier asked Gunn about plans beyond this first film, and the director was refreshingly honest:

“There’s a lot[based on ‘Superman’]. I mean, we’re not just going to keep making movies.”

Indeed, this first trailer promises a more social approach to the shared universe than “BvS” did, with characters like Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Mr. Terrific who have their moment while the clip explains that the film’s heroes are Superman. And Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, not a bunch of other heroes vying for the early spotlight. Hopefully the final film proves this to be true. One thing is certain: for the film itself as well as for DC Studios, the “Superman” trailer gives us a lot of hope.