James Gunn reveals ‘sweet’ link between his rescue dog and Superman’s pet in new film

Superman’s canine friend Krypto will make his movie debut in the 2025 blockbuster

Director James Gunn has revealed the first look at Krypto the Superdog, who will feature in the upcoming Superman film, set for release in 2025.

The new film, which is simply called Superman will star David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, who has admitted that he “didn’t feel great” after bulking up for the role.

It was confirmed by DC Comics writer Mark Waid in September that Krypto would be appearing in the new film but few could have guessed that the character would be based on Gunn’s own rescue dog, Ozu.

On X/Twitter, Gunn shared the first image of Krypto in the film, which sees the dog sitting on the Moon with Superman as they gaze down at the Earth, which is a homage to a panel from the acclaimed comic book All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison.

Expanding on the decision to include Krypto in the film, Gunn wrote: “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,” added the 58-year-old.

Continuing, Gunn said: “He immediately came in & destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture - he even ate my laptop. It took a long time before he would even let us touch him. I remember thinking, ‘Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?’ - and thus Krypto came into the script & changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life.”

Concluding, The Suicide Squad director said: “What better time to debut the not-so-good-good-boy Krypto than #AdoptAShelterDog month. Btw, Ozu today is, fairly often, a very good boy.”

Fans were left moved by Gunn’s story about Ozu. One wrote: “This is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard oh my god.”

Another said: “I have a feeling this movie is going to be special and the start of something incredible.”

Batman: The Animated Series writer Paul Dini added: “Adopting a dog, super or not, is always heroic.”

Comic book artist Cully Hammer, who has drawn Krypto, shared a similar story, writing: “I love it! And I love that Gunn is infusing Krypto with some of his own dog. When I drew Krypto in a Superman story a few years back, he basically was just a white version of my brown dog, Bernie...”

Krypto has been in DC Comics since his debut in 1955 and has similar powers to Superman but barring animated outings he is yet to feature in a live action movie. Dogs based on the character have appeared in both Smallville and the Superman & Lois TV shows.

David Corenswet as Superman (James Gunn/Threads)

The film is set to be released on 11 July, 2025 with the rest of the cast featuring Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Milly Alcock as Supergirl, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen and Wendell Pierce as Perry White.