Superman Easter Egg features the big screen debut of the iconic Flash villain

James Gunn’s long-awaited ‘Superman’ movie (watch the premiere) It’s still more than six months away from hitting theaters. This means we’re currently at a point where, as with any major summer blockbuster far from arriving, studios tend to hype up the excitement rather than give away much of anything substantive. For now, all you want to do is get the film on moviegoers’ radars with some eye-catching images, maybe a reveal of the villain, and then save the more revealing official trailer for March or April.

Gunn’s “Superman” doesn’t play that role, though. I don’t know if it’s because Warner Bros. And DC Studios have been taking it seriously ever since Christopher Nolan wrapped up his Batman trilogy, or the fact that the last two Superman spin-offs — “Superman Returns” and, to a lesser extent, “Man of Steel” — were commercial disappointments, but both companies are in a tough sell yet. Eight months. The new trailer for “Superman” is full of big character reveals and action. Lois Lane! Lex Luthor! Crypto! Jay Gardner? Damn right, Guy Gardner! The entire film can’t be full of wow moments, but it’s reassuring that a lot of it is brightly colored and fun! Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” was solid and “The Penguin” was surprisingly good, but we desperately need a break from the darkness. Superman seems to promise just that.

They’re also promising introductions to secondary villains who will likely appear in future DC Universe films like “The Brave and the Bold” and “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.” Some of these introductions are buried in the trailer, but eagle-eyed members of the DC Comics fandom have picked out the trailer frame by frame and highlighted them for the rest of us to think about. And one of these villains is an old friend of the Scarlet Speedster himself.

It’s just a single image printed on a newspaper, but it looks like Gunn’s DC Universe will feature some sort of involvement from the great and powerful Gorilla Grodd. See for yourself below (courtesy of Comicodigy On Twitter/X):

Gorilla Grodd was also featured in a newspaper in #Superman Tractor pic.twitter.com/KgRqeRYAC4

-Comicodigy (@comicodigy) December 19, 2024

Who is Gorilla Grodd? Why is he just a super intelligent ape capable of mind control and bent on taking over the world. He’s been running around in DC comic books, animated series, and TV shows since 1959, and while he’s mostly caused trouble for The Flash (a character whose role in Gunn’s DCU has yet to be determined), he’s also caused trouble for Superman and Batman and Martian. Manhunter and Ambush Bug, among others.

We have no idea what Grodd will be doing in Gunn’s DCU, but the fact that his films will make room for a gorilla with psychic powers is, once again, a balm for the soul. Superhero movies need characters like Gorilla Grodd. They need to overflow with the creativity of their silly splash pages. Grodd brought exactly this DC Animation World(Voice of Superpowers Boothe) So I can’t wait to see what kind of havoc he’ll wreak in the live-action movie.

“Superman” hits theaters on July 11, 2025.