Man’s best (super)friend has prime placement in the new “Superman” movie, and the pooch’s path to the cinematic spotlight may be worth a movie itself.
Krypto is a CGI flying white mutt who dons a red cape to match the Man of Steel’s. The unruly dog – who first appeared in DC Comics way back in 1955 – comes in handy at several pivotal moments throughout the movie, in spite his lack of obedience and training.
Here are the most surprising and sweet things to know about the furry scene stealer.
James Gunn’s actual rescue dog served as the 3D model for Krypto
The film’s director James Gunn previously announced that Krypto would be inspired by his real-life rescue dog, Ozu. More recently, Gunn told The New York Times that his greyish pup became the physical model for the computer-generated super-pet. The process, which Gunn said Ozu “despised,” required the dog to perch on a table surrounded by cameras capturing angles of him from all sides to create a 3D image.
Gunn said he worked with three visual effects companies to develop and fine-tune Krypto, including a team that created Rocket Raccoon from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films. He also used his own personal pet videos of Ozu playing with his cat as the basis for some of Krypto’s movements onscreen.
“I have tons of videos of them playing,” the director told the Times. “In fact, when Krypto is jumping on Superman at the beginning of the movie, that’s all based on footage of him playing with my cat.”
Krypto isn’t what you’d necessarily call a ‘good dog’ – but it’s not a bad thing
Ozu “came from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs & never knew human beings,” Gunn shared in a social media post. The director said at first his dog “was problematic to say the least.”
“He immediately came in & destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture – he even ate my laptop,” Gunn wrote. “It took a long time before he would even let us touch him.”
He also wrote that he had adopted Ozu shortly after he had started writing the script for “Superman,” which was how the dog made its way into the story.
“I remember thinking, ‘Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?’ – and thus Krypto came into the script & changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life,” Gunn wrote in his post.
Krypto maintains the decidedly unruly nature of the dog upon which he is based, a funny foil to Superman’s (played by David Corenswet) kind and composed comportment.
In the end, the “not-so-good-good-boy” – as Gunn described him – truly earns the distinction of superhero in his own right.
This isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing Krypto on the silver screen
Toward the end of the film, we learn that Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El – yes, Supergirl, as played by “Sirens” star Milly Alcock – is the actual owner of the Krypto. In the movie, Supergirl is a bit of a party girl who asked her cousin to watch over her dog while she was off catching a buzz in outer space.
But it seems both she and her beloved pet will be back, since Alcock is slated to star in a feature-length “Supergirl” film out next year. The movie is currently listed as being in post production on IMDb.
“Superman” is in theaters now. The film is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which is owned by CNN’s parent company.
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