James Gunn reveals first test footage of his dog Ozu as SUPERMAN’s superdog Krypto
Aside from the Big Blue Boy Scout himself, one of the most notable characters of 2025 Superman was Krypto the Super Dog, marking his film debut. Krypto was based on James Gunn’s dog, Ozu. THE Peacemaker The creator is known for being heavily involved in the CGI development of his films, sending reference material he is filmed to the animators so they could capture his vision on screen.
Now, Gunn has shared the first test footage he received of his pet as Superman’s super sidekick. In the caption of the video, which shows Krypto playing with Gunn’s cat, the director explained: “First test footage I got of Ozu as Krypto, playing with my cat. Yes, it’s CG (not the same as AI, so stop calling it that!).”
Gunn shared an unedited version of the video in September, showing Ozu playing with the director’s cat without any CGI. The only visuals added were those of Krypto, from the HBO Max animated short series, Krypto saves the day!chasing a black cat:
Krypto’s effects were handled by Framestore, a VFX company that also worked on How to train your dragon, Together, Fantastic Four: first steps And Love at first sight*. In June, Gunn shared Framestore test footage of Krypto featuring Superman Robot #4, aka Gary, voiced by Alan Tudyk:
Animation supervisor on SupermanLoïc Mireault, explain the process that brought Krypto to life for the DCU film: “Jacques [Gunn] provided us with almost an hour of footage of Ozu in many different settings, which was very useful in helping us capture the essence of Ozu’s behavior and personality. Using this as a solid foundation, we could mimic Ozu’s facial gestures and behavior or match things like his specific asymmetrical ears!”
Expanding on the Mireault breakdown, the Framestore team added: “This dedication to a real-world anchor was crucial. While Krypto was designed to feel muscular and powerful, the team’s guiding principle was that he should behave not like a “smarter” dog, but like a normal dog with superpowers. This approach ensures that, even with his incredible abilities, the audience connects with an expressive and believable character who is first and foremost a dog (and not so often a good guy).”
Krypto will likely return to the DCU in Supergirlscheduled for release on June 26, 2026.
What did you think of Ozu’s footage of James Gunn as Krypto? Are you looking forward to discovering more of the character? Let me know in the comments!
