Superman director James Gunn responds to criticism about Krypto the Superdog: “He’s an alien”

Superman director James Gunn revealed the first look at Krypto the Superdog yesterday, but some fans have already criticized his breed. While Krypto is typically depicted as a white Labrador Retriever, he has appeared as many different breeds over the years. Not exactly the most consistent pup. For the film, Gunn chose to model Krypto after his own dog, Ozu.

In response to Gunn’s reveal of Krypto on Threads, one fan said, “Not to be ‘that guy,’ but isn’t Krypto supposed to be something akin to a Labrador or something similar?” Gunn replied, “No. Krypto is historically a generic white dog, sometimes also a lab, white shepherd, husky, or Dalmatian. But obviously he’s an alien so he wouldn’t necessarily be exactly any one of these things.“

Superman stars David Corenswet (Pearl) as Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Ms. Maisel) as Lois Lane. The cast also includes Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Guy Gardner, a charismatic and slightly obnoxious member of the Green Lantern Corps; Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) as Hawkgirl; Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) as Mister Terrific; Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho; María Gabriela de Faría (Deadly Class) as The Engineer, a member of The Authority; Sara Sampaio (At Midnight) as Eve Teschmacher; Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones) as Jimmy Olsen; Wendell Pierce (The Wire) as Perry White; Neva Howell (Logan Lucky) as Martha Kent; Pruitt Taylor-Vince (The Walking Dead) as Jonathan Kent; and Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Lex Luthor.

The members of the Daily Planet newsroom have also expanded for the movie, with Beck Bennet (Saturday Night Live) set to play Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover (The Suicide Squad) as Cat Grant, and newcomer Christopher McDonald as Ron Troupe.

DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran has previously teased that Superman will not be an origin story and will focus on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.” Superman is slated to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.