The Superman (2025) Trailer is Out and I Have Thoughts

Never thought I'd see the day I'd be excited for a Superman film.

Half of my brand as a Lois Lane Apologist is preemptively hating new Superman media before I’ve even watched it. While I typically shy away from sharing comics media opinions online because comics fans can be a lot, I had too many thoughts about the James Gunn Superman (2025) trailer that dropped this morning. My friends deserve some peace, i.e. the ability to opt into my long winded soapbox, rather than be forced to listen to my 5+ minute voice memos.

(Note: I have done a lot of critical/scholarly work on comics. See: my masters thesis on Black Panther, my dissertation with an Ironheart chapter, my Catapult column on superhero girlfriends, my recent notable essay on Riri Williams and Natasha Irons. I have been an “expert opinion” on Shuri for a BBC Radio 4 podcast on princesses. I just save the long winded opinion rants for my friends. Now that that’s out of the way…)

The tl;dr is that I love Superman media, but typically do not enjoy Superman movies, I was not convinced I would be interested in this one, but I watched the trailer and it has the potential to convert me.

The hill I will die on is that television is Superman’s best medium. Smallville, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Superman & Lois, Superman: The Animated Series and My Adventures with Superman are all phenomenal, supremely binge-able and highly rewatchable. There is not a single Superman film I enjoy rewatching. Fight with someone else.

The films (of the last twenty or so years) miss the mark for me because they often seem to forego core characteristics of Superman as a character and the stories that define him. I have ranted at length about how (modern) Clark Kent is a Lover Boy, so his best stories are often ones that have him trying to move through conflicting loves: love of humanity, love of Lois, love of his family. Superman & Lois did a beautiful job of asking and trying to answer how Clark can act in alignment with his love of humanity generally, but love of his family specifically, when each may require choices that conflict.

I frequently think that when folks say Superman is boring, they may have engaged with a story that does not take love and all of its complications seriously. They instead focus on strength and power, without considering its relationship to love and care and community.

And frankly, yes, that type of story is boring.

Combine that with a dark tone and I’m out every single time.

This trailer had me locked in. The opening with Krypto hit me the same way Tyler Hoechlin’s delivery of “Thanks! My mom made it!” in response to a child complimenting his suit did. These small moments are Core Clark to me. I delighted in the brightness of it. Tonally, it reads as a balanced sort of whimsy, with an earnest core.

Earnest.

That is how I think of Superman. Earnest can be whimsical and loving, just as it can be serious and dark. But earnest has it’s own charm, crucial to Superman, that I think comes across well in the trailer.

I found myself more interested in cuts of David Corenswet as Clark, than when he’s Superman. This is a perpetual conundrum for me, as a lover of superhero media. Often, actors only either the superhero persona or the secret identity really well, rarely both. Though I did love the slow motion sequence of Superman protecting a young girl from an onslaught of debris (a classic Superman stance but very reminiscent of the shot they used of Tom Welling as Clark making a similar save for the opening credits of Smallville for several seasons), I'll, of course, need to see the film to decide if I like Corenswet’s Clark and Superman.

And the moment you’ve all been waiting for: my read of Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois!

She definitely understood the assignment. But I’m waiting to hear her speak. The body language is definitely giving Lois, though.

While the Superhero/Secret Identity conundrum often plagues me with Superman/Clark, I struggle with Lois castings for a different reason.

Lois can be difficult to nail down because she’s got to 1) look like she’d readily tell you she’ll beat you up; 2) look like she could actually beat you up and will do it; 3) be physically striking. It has to almost create dissonance, like “I’m conflicted because this woman is telling me she could punch me in the face, but I don’t want to believe it because she’s so pretty, but I’m terrified if I move the wrong way, she’ll do it.” There’s a complimentary earnestness about Lois that makes her uninterested or unconcerned about her beauty, but not unaware of it. My favorite Lois depictions allow her to wield her beauty as another tool in her arsenal. It creates an abrasive character who can largely be perceived as unlikeable, but that’s not an issue for her. She’s too settled in who she is to be bothered by being unlikeable.

Because of this, and more (this is a short blog post, after all), Lois Lane can be a complicated figure to write, cast and portray well. One day, I will have to write some more about how the day we commit to unlinking likability and niceness from someone’s ability to be loved and desired and cared for will be the day we can have a really good conversation about Lois Lane. (In the meantime, go read Tim Hanley’s history of Lois Lane, which is one of my favorite books of all time.)

All this to say, I’m hopeful for a new Lois I can add to my Favorites list.

My final thoughts are a little all over the place, and little wild largely because I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to Superman casting. (You heard me say I don’t like Superman films, right?) As a result, I was surprised to see Hawkgirl (!!!) and Mister Terrific (!!!) in the trailer. I love Shayera, and she is paid DUST, so you know I’m sat. I loved Krypto! We also simply do not get enough Krypto for my taste! Across all media!

I saved Lex Luthor for last because I have a complicated relationship with him. I love him as a character, and think he is a perfectly conceptualized villain, but I feel like his portrayals can be really hit or miss for me. (I am going to give y’all a list of my favorite Clarks, Loises and Lexes below. Again, argue with your mother.) I feel hopeful about getting a Lex you love to hate here.

The tone just feels right based on this trailer. Equal parts charming, adventurous, and anticipatory.

I bought in. I hope I won’t regret this.

This. This is the shot that did me in. All in. Photo from ScreenRant

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My Favorite Lois/Clark/Lex Actors

Favorite Clark Kent Performances

Tom Welling in Smallville

Jack Quaid in My Adventures with Superman

Favorite Superman Performances

Probably Christopher Reeve in the Superman movies but I’m not sure if I’m committing to that

Favorite Performances of BOTH Clark Kent and Superman

Tyler Hoechlin in Superman & Lois

Dean Cain in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

Favorite Lois Lane Performances

Erica Durance in Smallville

Teri Hatcher in Lois & Clark

(Okay, I do kind of like Margot Kidder but she’s not a favorite of all time)

Favorite Lois & Clark Couple Performances

Tom Welling & Erica Durance in Smallville

Dean Cain & Teri Hatcher in Lois & Clark

Tyler Hoechlin & Bitsie Tulloch in Superman & Lois

Favorite Lex Luthor Performances

John Shea in Lois & Clark

Michael Rosenbaum in Smallville

Clancy Brown in Superman: The Animated Series

*I know My Adventures with Superman characters didn’t top out in my lists very much but it’s overall very high in my favorite Superman media list.

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Also, things (comics, standalone graphic novels, and novels*) you should consider reading if you want to like Superman/Lois Lane more:

All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

Superman: Dawnbreaker by Matt de la Peña**

Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond**

Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge by Grace Ellis and Brittney L. Williams

Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story by Sarah Kuhn and Arielle Jovellanos**

Superman: The Harvests of Youth by Sina Grace

Dawn of DC Superman series by Joshua Williamson & Jamal Campbell

Superman: Son of Kal-El series by Tom Taylor and John Timms

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru

(Note: I also think if you want to like Superman more, consider reading Blue Beetle comics. That’s all!)

*No, I did not forget Red Son, For All Seasons, or Death of Superman! LEAVE ME ALONE.

**My personal favorites that I return to a lot.