We’re already halfway through the month and I’m just now learning that October is “Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.” Technically I got the season started a few days early when I adopted My Guy at the end of September. Filmmaker James Gunn, who’s on a mission to recharge the DC Universe, decided to honor the month by breaking news about his Superman reboot due out next summer: the movie will feature the first live-action iteration of Krypto, Superman’s super-powered sidekick pup. In a heartfelt Twitter post, Gunn elaborated on how he was inspired to write Krypto into the script after welcoming home his own rescue, Ozu. The tribute is lovely, James, but I hope Ozu is getting a “Story By” credit on the film for being a muse of a mutt!
“Krypto was inspired by our dog Ozu, who we adopted shortly after I started writing Superman,” Gunn wrote in a post on X. “Ozu, who came from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs & never knew human beings, was problematic to say the least. 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.”
Gunn then remembers 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,” he continues. “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.”
The first look at the character in a motion image shows David Corenswet’s Superman sitting on the moon alongside Krypto looking out at Earth.
Krypto the Superdog first appeared in 1955 in Adventure Comics #210 and appeared in numerous animated series and films, but never before in a live-action film. The self-titled Krypto the Superdog animated series starring the canine superhero premiered on Cartoon Network in 2005 and aired on The CW’s Saturday morning block Kids’ WB from September 23, 2006, until September 15, 2007.
In the series, Krypto was Superman’s pet puppy on Krypton before being sent into space before the planet was destroyed. Upon landing on Earth he is a fully grown dog who has similar abilities to those of Superman. Krypto is adopted by 9-year-old Kevin Whitney, whose family thinks Krypto is an ordinary Labrador retriever. But the canine dons the secret identity “Superdog” when he performs heroic deeds and fights evil. Other than Kevin, the only person who knows Krypto’s secret is bratty cousin Bailey, who lies so often that nobody believes his talk about the dog’s powers.
Gunn’s Superman follows the superhero of the same name as he looks to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.
“Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?” Um, by Gunn’s own account, Ozu completely annihilated the house, including the ingestion of a laptop. The boy clearly has superpowers already!! And speaking of, I’m adjusting to My Guy’s idiosyncrasies, the quirks that are unique to him and certainly different from my dearly departed My Girl. One of them is that My Guy is a fella who, like Ozu, likes to abscond with a shoe, and if I didn’t intervene I think he too would destroy them. I can’t imagine, though, what on Earth (or Krypton) it would look like for a dog to eat a laptop. That sounds legitimately dangerous! Did he just eat off some keys? Were his teeth actually able to penetrate the machinery? Does Ozu require routine iOS updates now? Help set the scene for us, James!
As for Krypto entering the picture, it gets a big paws up from me. I love dogs, dogs are superheroes anyway, it all just makes sense. What I want to know is, did they cast a canine actor in the role, or will Krypto be a CGI character? I couldn’t sniff out any clues on the IMDb Cast & Crew page. Then I started poring over the teaser image Gunn posted — the breeds don’t seem to match up, but boy would it be a coup if they got Messi from Anatomy of a Fall to star as Krypto! And let’s be real, that boy is ready to carry a comic book franchise.
The new Superman is scheduled to be released on July 11, 2025. In the meantime, you can be a hero this month (and any month!) and adopt a dog, if you are able.
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. He… pic.twitter.com/zw8rVqv0n0
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 15, 2024
One can never have too many good dogs in a movie, especially if they help with the development of a story arch.
But, as much as I liked Messi, he’s a French dog — meaning everyone working with him would need to know at least a few basic commands in French, and I don’t know if that’s feasible.
Yay Ozu! He’s a good boy 🙂
Here’s to dogs needing homes and may they find their people.
Adopted a new dog last weekend…his is a similar situation to Ozu’s. It going to take a lot of (human) patience and hot dogs to get this new friend comfortable, but he is worth it.