“Home. Take me home.”

There’s a remarkable amount of symbolism in these words, the only ones spoken by the titular Man of Steel in the first teaser trailer for Superman. The footage premiered on Thursday following a press preview on December 17, introduced by writer-director James Gunn. The filmmaker has been saying for two years now that this film will officially kick off the new DC Universe, which he and his fellow DC Studios co-head Peter Safran have been put at the helm. But as the teaser makes clear, this Superman – played by relative newcomer David Corenswet (“Hollywood,” “Twisters”) – will enter a cinematic universe for the first time that features the full spectrum of DC Comics characters. Superman is actually coming home to DC.

Of course, the teaser offers a first look at Corenswet as Superman’s bespectacled alter ego, Clark Kent, a reporter for Metropolis newspaper The Daily Planet. There are also several quick shots of Kent’s colleague and Superman’s lover Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), both at the Daily Planet and with Superman; and Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who scowls as he hatches a nefarious plot. There are also a few brief glimpses of Skyler Gisondo as Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen and Pruitt Taylor Vince as Jonathan Kent, Clark’s adoptive father.

All of these characters have been an integral part of almost every live-action and animated adaptation of Superman to date. But for the first time in the modern era of live-action superhero movies, we also meet Last Son of Krypton’s wild dog, Krypto the Superdog, who saves a bloodied and exhausted Superman after he falls into the Arctic ice. There are also brief glimpses of several other DC superheroes making their big screen debuts. These include Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, who floats in an impenetrable sphere; Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, the fierce member of the Green Lantern Corps who marches toward Superman with a purpose that doesn’t seem friendly; Isabela Merced (“Alien: Romulus”) as the winged Hawkgirl; and Anthony Corrigan as the pale, bald-headed Metamorpho.

As Gunn explained in a question-and-answer session following the press preview for the Warner Bros. lot, the teaser is intended to show that this Superman “lives in a world with superheroes.”

“Superhero movies have taken these characters and said, ‘Okay, it’s Batman (or) it’s Superman, but it’s none of the other stuff,'” Gunn said. “We embrace the entire Superman mythology. He has friends who are other superheroes. He has people he doesn’t get along with very well who are other superheroes. He created a lot of the things that we love about the Superman comics that we haven’t been able to see as much in the filmed media and that we definitely haven’t been able to see in an informed way that we hope we’ve created.”

Gunn said his DC Universe has “as many elements in common with ‘Game of Thrones’ as it does with the Marvel Universe,” as he wants it to feel like a fully lived world that also happens to contain fantastical elements.

Here are some more revelations from the extended question and answer session with Gunn, Corenswet, Brosnahan and Hoult.

Yes, that’s an electric guitar playing John Williams’ classic Superman theme, but the film will also have original music

Gunn said he wrestled with whether to include the rousing main theme composed by John Williams for the 1978 “Superman” film, which he eventually realized was so indelibly associated with the character that his film Should incorporate it in some way – like the electric guitar riff used in the teaser.

“That was one of my favorite soundtracks of all time,” he said.

The director turned to John Murphy, who composed the scores for Gunn’s 2021 DC film The Suicide Squad and his 2023 Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” “I said, ‘I want to use a version of the Williams theme, but I want to do our own version of it,'” Gunn said. “This leads to many other pieces, some of which draw on the Williams theme, but others of which are purely John Murphy.”

The director brought Murphy in early in the process – a rare early appointment for film composers – and sent him preliminary drafts of the script almost two years ago. While filming the film, Gunn then played some of Murphy’s first passes to a score on set. “It’s about finding the balance between novel and tradition.”

The film will showcase the innate goodness of Superman

During the question-and-answer session, Gunn returned several times to the fact that he wanted the film to be about good at its core and how he thought the world could use a story that encompassed that.

“We have a battered Superman at the beginning,” he said, referring to the beginning of the teaser (and, he implied, the beginning of the film itself) when Superman falls into the ice. “This is our country. I believe in the goodness of people, and I believe that most people in this country, despite their ideological beliefs and politics, do their best to get by and be good people – regardless of what it may mean for others page may appear. no matter what that other side may be. That’s what this film is about. It’s about the fundamental kindness of people and how it can be seen as uncool and under siege from some of the darker voices are some of the louder voices.”

After the question and answer session, Gunn discussed this topic in more detail with us diversity.

“I’m happy that people can see the essence of what we do because it’s really like a private secret that we’ve all been hoarding,” he said. “We felt very comfortable from the beginning, from a moral point of view. We all felt like we were doing something good, both in terms of quality and actually doing something that wasn’t a fascist power fantasy.”

“I don’t say that about other hero films in general,” he added, as if sensing the displeasure this sentiment might cause among hardcore fans of Zack Snyder’s DC films – who are criticized for being, well , give in to fascist fantasies of power. “But it felt good to do something that involved someone’s kindness.”

The actors developed their own approaches to their iconic characters

When Corenswet talked about Superman being “on par with Lex Luthor” at one point in the question-and-answer session, he paused as if he was about to reveal something he shouldn’t. “This is my first project where I have to be very careful about spoilers,” he said with a laugh. But in the end, each of the actors gave some insightful insights into their interpretations of their respective characters.

Corenswet seemed to feel the most personal connection to his character, particularly what some see as Superman’s naivety about humanity’s innate goodness. “When I was in school I was always cut out of the drama,” he said. “I never felt like I knew the exciting, exciting gossip that was going on. And that’s why I’ve always seen people as the best versions of themselves – I don’t think in a particularly naive way. A lot of people think of Superman as a naive character, and it’s really just a blindness to the little imperfections and the silly little things that we deal with as humans. I tend to miss those, and I think Superman misses them, and that’s what keeps him steadfast and determined to look toward the good and the hopeful.”

As for Superman’s physical inspiration, Corenswet said he drew the most inspiration from his brother-in-law, “who is 6-foot-1, 250 pounds, has the deepest voice and is always in the way and always trying not to be.” .” ” But it wasn’t until he started working with his fellow actors, particularly Brosnahan and Hoult, that “I realized who was Clark and who was Superman,” he said.

For Brosnahan, Lois Lane was a character who “evolves to fit what it would mean to be an intrepid journalist in whatever generation or decade in which she appears.” So she considered what it would be for Lois would mean living in a world where print journalism “is perhaps an endangered art form and she is someone who has dedicated her whole life to it.”

“Because of her profession, but also because of her personality, she questions everything,” Brosnahan continued. “She tries to see around every corner. And that’s how she faces the world.”

Many of Lex Luthor’s classic qualities are certainly present in Hoult’s version of Metropolis’ industrial titan. “Obviously he’s smart and ruthless and has to outmaneuver Superman on certain levels because he can’t keep up with him on others,” Hoult said. “But from my perspective, hopefully there’s something about this character that even though you might not agree with his process, you can understand where he’s coming from and why what he represents as his ideology might be better for humanity is.”

Superman’s suit was intended to look very different from previous superhero costumes – but it still put a smile on everyone’s face

While Gunn said it took “a long development process” to complete his version of Superman’s suit, he was clear about what he was doing from the start not I want it to look like this.

“I didn’t want it to look like a wet T-shirt,” he said. “I didn’t want to have fake muscles in it, and I didn’t want to have airbrushed abs on it.”

For his part, Corenswet said that for him there was never a moment when he wore it “for the first time” because there are so many variations of all aspects of the costume. Instead, he was able to experience how others saw him in the final version of the suit for the first time.

“I didn’t feel like Superman, but it was so great watching my castmates and crew members,” he said. “You’re witnessing them witness it.”

Hoult then gave his side of the experience. “When I saw David in costume, I was in awe,” the actor said. “I hate to admit that it made me feel warm and fuzzy. There was a scene where he flew onto the set and I had a little private grin on my face. And I turned around and saw everyone else in the room watching him with the same expression on their faces.”

“And the best part is seeing how kids see it,” Corenswet added. “There’s just nothing else like it.”

With that in mind, Gunn told the story, which he has told various versions of before, that during one of Corenswet’s fittings, he complained about how silly and colorful the suit looked. “And David says, ‘Yeah, he’s an alien from outer space who’s super powerful and doesn’t want kids to be afraid of him.’ It touched me in that moment, and it touches me now. That’s him.”

“Superman” hits theaters on July 11th. Check out the trailer below.