Superman Movie: Handling Side Characters Amid High Expectations

The Man of Steel is making a thrilling return in James Gunn's upcoming film, "Superman," set to hit theaters on July 11, 2025. The recently released trailer has fans buzzing with excitement, showcasing standout performances by lead actor David Corenswet and the action-packed scenes featuring Superman's beloved dog, Krypto. However, the trailer's introduction of numerous characters has sparked a debate about the film's narrative cohesion. "The trailer starts strong," one Redditor commented on an r/Superman thread. "But then practically every shot introduces another new character, and I started worrying how the movie was going to tell a coherent story." Another fan expressed a similar concern, saying, "I'm going to love it; he looks great as Superman, he looks great as Clark Kent, but the movie looks like it might be a bit busy, there's a lot going on here."

Some fans are worried about the numerous cameos featured in the trailer. "Now this, I love this trailer. From someone who never really liked the dark DC vibe, I’m excited to experience a true comic superhero movie. But am I the only one who is worried about all the cameos in the trailer?" one fan posted. "Like I swear I was counting like 8 friends and foes in this movie. I know they want to set up James Gunn’s DCU with this, but I would prefer it to be less heavy on cameo fodder and take more time to develop the characters needed to tell the story."

The trailer indeed showcases a wide array of characters, including Clark Kent's Earth parents, love interest Lois Lane (played by Rachel Brosnahan), and a variety of villains, with Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) as the central antagonist. Despite concerns about the film being potentially overpacked, many fans are enthusiastic about the diverse character introductions. Here is a list of characters revealed so far in "Superman":

• Superman
• Lois Lane
• Lex Luthor
• Mister Terrific
• Guy Gardner
• Hawkgirl
• Metamorpho
• The Engineer
• The Hammer of Boravia
• Ultraman
• Rick Flag Sr.
• Supergirl
• Maxwell Lord
• Kryptonian robots, including Kelex
• Krypto
• Jonathan Kent
• Martha Kent
• Perry White
• Jimmy Olsen
• Steve Lombard
• Cat Grant
• Ron Troupe
• Eve Teschmacher
• Otis

"I'm glad there's a lot going on," one user responded to the concerns. "We've seen him fight Lex & Zod countless times at this point, I want to see him completely overwhelmed and emerge as a symbol of hope." Another fan pointed out, "It’s side characters, less cameos. Like Iron Man had several side characters." A third fan noted that this is typical for movies, saying, "I don't feel like it's such a big deal honestly. Movies usually need secondary/side characters. Gunn here is just filling in those spots with rather big names, but I doubt he'll give them more than what they need."

Superman: Behind the Scenes Cast and Character Images

View 33 Images

Despite the concerns about the film's potential overstuffed nature, fans are eager to see how Gunn manages the runtime and character integration. "It looks good but wondering how they’re going to shoehorn so many different characters into one movie," one user commented, to which another fan replied, "It's not any more characters than the average comic book movie. It's fine." A third user drew a comparison, saying, "Kinda like Guardians of the Galaxy…?"

James Gunn has reassured fans that "Superman" is not an ensemble piece. "At the middle of everything is Clark, Lois, and Lex," he stated during an Instagram Live session at the beginning of 2025. "It’s about these three characters." How he balances this focus with the extensive cast remains to be seen, but anticipation is high for the film's release on July 11, 2025.