The theatrical version of the Superman trailer hit cinemas late last week, playing ahead of the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King. And in it fans are seeing ever so slightly more of the DC supervillains Superman is set to face in the movie itself.
The debut trailer for Superman offered a good look at Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in which we see María Gabriela de Faría’s The Engineer / Angela Spica, and an enemy who battles Superman in an empty baseball stadium (Cleveland Guardians’ Progressive Field in real life).
The theatrical version includes a brief shot of Luthor flanked by The Engineer and Ultraman, who, it turns out, was the character taking on Superman in the stadium.
The other new scenes in the theatrical version of #Superman teaser trailer
Watching #Sonic3 @ResonantJustice pic.twitter.com/uzeMh7jNva
— SpT 🍷♍️💙🤓 (@Semere_T) December 19, 2024
The Ultraman we see here has the trademark U on the front of his uniform, but there are few other notable features. The character’s body is concealed by his suit, so we can’t see his face. He wears a pair of goggles that cover his eyes, giving away little.
This shot in the theatrical trailer tallies with set photos that showed a cuffed Superman being led down a street by Ultraman, The Engineer, and Frank Grillo as Rick Flag. Sr, as well as some soldiers. So we’re now starting to get a clearer picture of what Superman is up against here, although how all these characters link to Lex Luthor remains a mystery.
These supervillains aren’t the only enemies Superman is set to face. The trailer shows two huge monsters, one a fire-breathing, skyscraper-sized kaiju that looks a bit like an axolotl, the other an energy beam-firing floating tentacle ball monster.
The trailer kicks off with a surprisingly vulnerable Superman lying prone on a snowy surface, battered, bruised, and bleeding. Who was powerful enough to do this to Superman? Perhaps it was the work of Ultraman. In the DC comics, Ultraman is an evil alternate version of Superman who shares the same Kryptonian superpowers, except Ultraman is depowered by sunlight and powered up by kryptonite.
The shot in the theatrical trailer could be showing the villainous trio entering Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Fans are speculating that Superman tries to intervene but the fight doesn’t end well for him, resulting in the state we see him in at the start of the trailer.
Generally speaking, Superman has help from a number of DC superheroes, including Edi Gathegi’s Michael Holt / Mister Terrific. The theatrical trailer also includes a new, closer look at Mister Terrific’s mask. And let’s not forget Krypto the Superdog, who rescues Superman after his beatdown, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, and Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner / Green Lantern.
Superman hits theatres on July 11, 2025, and is the first film in the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. IGN has an explainer on all the DC Heroes and Villains in the new trailer, comments from James Gunn on Krypto actually being a pretty terrible dog in the movie, thoughts on how Superman is about hope, and more.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
Add comment