It was a busy day at CinemaCon yesterday, and one of the highlight presentations was from Warner Bros. Discovery, which is giving extreme The Studio vibes as studio co-chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy are reportedly under pressure from company CEO David Zaslav to focus on big IP and not the auteur-driven fare they like making, like Mickey 17. This is LITERALLY the plot of The Studio, except that Griffin Mill is WAY more likeable than David Zaslav.
Anyway, the highlight of the WBD presentation was without doubt Superman. Writer/director James Gunn was on hand with stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult, and they teased a five-minute behind the scenes reel that will be released in theaters this weekend in front of A Minecraft Movie.
That kind of corporate synergy ought to make Zaz happy, anyway.
Shoutout to Rachel Brosnahan, our new Lois Lane, for absolutely nailing the assignment and showing up in a vintage Galliano dress printed with newspaper articles. On point! Theme dressing in a clever way in a venue where going big is rewarded! Lowkey looking forward to Rachel’s press tour looks now.
The footage has not yet been released—maybe next week, after it’s incentivized the weekend crowd to go see Minecraft—but apparently it’s heavy on Krypto the Superdog. When the teaser dropped I said no matter what happens with the movie, people will love Krypto (Lainey is already obsessed), and they must know that because Gunn & Co are leaning HARD on Krypto to sell the movie.
Everyone loves a good boy, but I am starting to get a sense that they don’t trust Superman to sell his own movie. And not without good reason, as audiences did not cotton onto the last cinematic Superman, but it IS a little worrisome that they are leaning so hard on the dog this early in the press cycle. Ultimately, this is a SUPERMAN movie, and people are going to have to buy into David Corenswet’s Superman, not just his dog.
It’s one thing to acknowledge enthusiasm for the dog, it’s something else entirely to suggest the dog is the best part of Superman, which is the vibe I’m starting to get. I really feel that now is a moment when a hopeful, optimistic Superman can hit just right, but like…you have to give that becaped nerd a chance to win people over. Right now, it feels like they’re selling me a dog movie, not a Superman movie. Should we be worried?
