Superman is flying back to the big screen.
On Thursday, Dec. 19, director James Gunn and DC Studios premiered the first teaser trailer for Supermanwhich stars David Corenswet as the Man of Steel and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
The new trailer meets Clark Kent well after he has already embraced his role as Superman and began fighting crime on Earth. In this film, the character also often has his dog Krypto by his side. In day-to-day life, Clark works as a reporter at the newspaper The Daily Planet.
Joining Corenswet, 31, and Brosnahan, 34, in the movie’s cast are Nicholas Hoult, who portrays villain Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Milly Alcock as Supergirl, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, and Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, among others.
Warner Bros.
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PEOPLE attended a special preview event for the trailer on Monday, Dec. 16, where Gunn, 58, said Corenswet has “such Superman face” during a moderated discussion.
“The thing I think that connects him so much in some ways to Christopher Reeve is he has a lot of deep training,” Gunn said. “I’ve never worked in my entire life with such a rigorous actor. He challenged me on a daily basis to really get the most out of his character, get the most out of his story. Everything he does in the movie is utterly true. You don’t ever have a moment even watching dailies where you go, ‘David did something that feels stupid, that doesn’t feel real, that feels like he’s faking it or he’s phoning it in.’ Never.”
Gunn additionally noted that he received Brosnahan and Corenswet’s taped auditions “on our very first day of casting” for the movie, which was previously titled Superman: Legacy.
“The thing that I was the most worried about was casting Superman at the beginning of this process,” he added. “And after the first day, I was like, ‘Oh, I think that guy’s pretty good.’ ”
Warner Bros.
Corenswet said during the discussion that his portrayal of Clark Kent and Superman meets Kent early in his career as a reporter with the newspaper The Daily Planet. The actor noted that watching crew members and their families see him in character proved most exciting while on set.
“When crew people would bring their kids to set, getting to see first person a 5-, 6-year-old kid see Superman, there’s nothing like it,” he said. “It’s amazing.”
Superman is in theaters July 11.