James Gunn has confirmed that Krypto the Superdog will feature in his upcoming Superman movie, marking the character’s first live-action appearance in the DCEU. The announcement, made in recognition of Adopt a Shelter Dog month, highlights Krypto’s role in the film. According to Variety, Gunn shared the news on Tuesday, explaining the inspiration behind Krypto’s character.
Gunn revealed, “Krypto arrives on screens in Superman this summer.” He further explained, “Krypto was inspired by our dog Ozu, who we adopted shortly after I started writing Superman. Ozu came from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs and had never known human beings, which made him quite challenging.”
Gunn recounted, “He immediately came in and 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 and changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life. What better time to debut the not-so-good-good-boy Krypto than during #AdoptAShelterDog month. Btw, Ozu today, is, fairly often, a very good boy.”
Krypto, a superpowered dog from Superman’s home planet Krypton, has appeared in numerous animated DC films but has never been seen in a live-action film until now. He will make his debut alongside David Corenswet’s Man of Steel in Gunn’s movie next summer, before joining Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, directed by Craig Gillespie, set to premiere in June 2026.
