In the new Superman trailer, the David Corenswet’s Man of Steel sits down for an interview with Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane — and has to defend himself against allegations that he has defied the president of the United States.
It’s a provocative trailer for many reasons — does the scene mean Lois Lane already knows Superman’s secret identity in the new film? (They’re coworkers at the Daily Planet when he’s in Clark Kent mode, but he isn’t wearing glasses in the trailer.)
Also, is this a real interview, or a practice one for Lois and/or Superman?
And is the trailer meant to mirror contentious real-life issues like immigration, or does it just feel that way?
Superman and Lois Face Off in Superman Trailer
The interview begins with Lois pressing Superman about a recent battle in which he apparently saved many lives — without going through proper channels. As they speak, we see thrilling scenes of Superman being heroic — and getting heat for it.
“Today the Secretary of Defense said he was gonna look into your actions,” Lois says.
Superman gives her a quizzical expression. “My actions? I stopped a war,” he protests.
She presses: “In effect, you illegally entered a country… did you consult with the president?”
He threatrically sighs, then responds sharply, “No.”
“You were seemingly acting as a representative of the United States —” she says, before he cuts her off: “I wasn’t representing anybody except for me… and doing good!”
They seem to work things out: Later in the trailer, we see them kissing as he flies her high in the air, in the classic Lois and Superman pose. The music — quoting John Williams’ score for the original 1978 Superman — matches the heights of our alien hero.
The trailer also suggests that the Corenswet may be a little more defensive and hot-tempered than the Supermans of the past, particularly Christopher Reeve’s unflappable, grinning, hard-to-trigger Superman of the original four Superman films.
The new Superman trailer also highlights Nicholas Hoult in the role of Lex Luthor, who spends much of the time seething about Superman. He even goes so far as to gripe about Supes’ pronouns, insisting, “he’s not a man — he’s an it.”
More Superman Trailer Details
The Superman trailer also treats us to expanded looks at the dizzying array of villains Superman will face in the new film, including a very large, Kaiju-style monster.
And we get to see Superman, a native of planet Krypton, hanging out with his adopted Earth parents in his childhood bedroom in Smallville, Kansas, along with his faithful dog, Krypto.
Warner Bros. says of the new film, which it hopes will be one of the biggest hits of summer 2025: “In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.”
Gunn and his fellow DC Studios head, Peter Safran, are producing the film, based on the characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
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The film’s cast also includes Edi Gathegi (For All Mankind), Anthony Carrigan (Barry), Nathan Fillion (The Suicide Squad), Isabela Merced Alien Romulus), Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones), Sara Sampaio (At Midnight), María Gabriela de Faría (The Moodys), Wendell Pierce (Selma), Alan Tudyk (Andor), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Bird Box) and Neva Howell (Greedy People).
Superman is executive produced by Nikolas Korda, Chantal Nong Vo and Lars Winther.
Gunn is also joined by frequent collaborators including director of photography Henry Braham, production designer Beth Mickle, costume designer Judianna Makovsky and composer John Murphy, along with composer David Fleming (The Last of Us) and editors William Hoy (The Batman) and Craig Alpert (Deadpool 2.
Superrman is a Troll Court Entertainment/The Safran Company Production.
Superman arrives in theaters July 11 from Warner Bros.