New “Superman” Teaser Sets Up an Epic Showdown With a Confident Lex Luthor

January 27, 2025

Before the Philadelphia Eagles eventual romp over the Washington Commanders on Sunday, January 26, the Birds faithful roared as a bald eagle soared down from the rafters of Lincoln Financial Field. It’s how the Eagles kick off their home games before the actual games, giving their fans a look at the real-life manifestation of their majestic mascot. It was during the game, however, that another majestic beast soared through the air in a new look at David Corenswet as Superman. What better time to unleash a new Superman teaser than during the NFC Championship game, when millions of folks are glued to the TV? And while Corenswet once again looked the part in this 30-second taste of what’s to come, soaring through the icy canons of the Arctic and saving little girls from certain death, it was a shot of his arch nemesis, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, striding off his high-tech jet in a high, fur-collared (and no doubt expensive) jacket and aviators, a snowy landscape reflected in their mirrors, that was the moment. Is Lex on the march looking for Superman’s Fortress of Solitude?

The new teaser provided some familiar shots from our first glimpse at writer/director James Gunn’s hotly-anticipated table setter for his new-look DC Studios, including Superman saving a little girl in the middle of an explosion, Superman kneeling over a destroyed robot who many people are speculating is Kelex, his a Kryptonian servant droid who is Superman’s last connection to Krypton, and Krypto, Superman’s super-dog.

The Lex Luthor moment is the most compelling shot of all, however, as it gives us a sense of how Hoult and Gunn approached the iconic villain. While it’s only a brief look, Hoult seems to be giving his Luthor the gravitas and confidence we saw in arguably the most iconic cinematic iteration of the character, Gene Hackman’s portrayal of Luthor in Richard Donner’s seminal 1978 film Superman. For older generations, Hackman’s scheming, darkly dreaming Luthor was the definitive portrait of Superman’s wily, ruthless foe. In Zack Snyder’s world, which began Henry Cavill’s run as Clark Kent/Superman, Jesse Eisenberg plays Luthor in the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as a kind of Mark Zuckerberg-esque vengeful nerd whose brilliance is equaled by his rage and poor foresight (he unleashes a reborn General Zod in the form of the monstrous Doomsday, nearly destroying Metropolis and himself).

Gunn’s Superman boasts a stellar cast, including Rachel Brosnahan as the irrepressible Lois Lane. The world Gunn has built for Superman is one in which the Man of Steel is hardly the only superbeing or metahuman on the planet. Superman will be mixing it up with Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathigi), Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio), and his cousin, Kara Zor-El/Supergirl (Milly Alcock).

Check out Luthor’s confident stride and Superman in flight in the new teaser below. Superman soars into theaters on July 11, 2025.