Source: @jamesgunn / Twitter
It looks like Superman won’t be flying solo when James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy hits theaters in 2025 as he’ll be having a special friend by his side who’ll be making his own cinematic debut after only existing on print for decades.
According to Deadline, Krypto, the Superdog, is primed and ready to help Superman save the world as Gunn shared the first image of the super-powered K-9 sitting next to the Man of Steel on X yesterday (Oct. 15). While fans didn’t even know Krypto was going to be a part of Gunn’s rebooted DCU, it was welcomed news as the character is beloved and has even gotten his own animated series on Cartoon Network back in 2005. Taking to social media to break the news, Gunn explained how his own rescue dog, Ozu, became the inspiration for Krypto’s involvement in the film as Ozu destroyed almost everything in his home after he was adopted.
Once he saw the kind of havoc a puppy who wasn’t housebroken yet could do, Gunn wondered “’Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?’ – and thus Krypto came into the script and changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life.”‘
Krypto arrives on screens in Superman this summer. 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… pic.twitter.com/zw8rVqv0n0
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 15, 2024
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For those who aren’t familiar with Krypto, let’s just say you won’t be mad at the character’s involvement in the upcoming Superman film.
Deadline reports:
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.
Whether they go with the dog’s original origin story remains to be seen, but we’re definitely looking forward to see how Gunn incorporates Supes having a super pet for the first time on the silver screen. We’re sure it’ll be for comic relief, but we know he’ll do some pretty super stuff here and there.
What do y’all think about Krypto, the Superdog, making his cinematic debut? Sound off in the comments section below.
