'Superman' Trailer Looks Great, But We've Been Here Before...

'Superman Returns' and 'Man of Steel' had spectacular teasers and trailers yet stumbled commercially amid underwhelming word of mouth. Can James Gunn succeed where Bryan Singer and Zack Snyder failed?

This 139-second preview for James Gunn’s Superman looks quite good. That’s especially true in its final 48 seconds that offer a taste of the scale (thar be dragons), scope (Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific and Lex Luthor all offering cameos) and sex (Superman having his priorities in order on multiple occasions, even with some glowing ball of laser-shooting doom just outside). It’s appropriately colorful and Imax-friendly, while John Murphy’s rousing new compositions, which, yes, play around with the John Williams themes while feeling new enough, make the sale.

However, in a grim irony, the next “autoplay” video on YouTube’s DC page after this morning’s Superman teaser trailer was (via Max) Superman Returns. It’s a reminder that we’ve been here before. This will be the third “new” Superman franchise starter in under twenty years. Both predecessors (Superman Returns in 2006 and Man of Steel in 2013) had spectacular first-look teasers (and, for Man of Steel, an all-time classic final trailer) that convinced too many of us that “This time it will be different.”