Krypto and the kaiju: See James Gunn’s original concept designs from ‘Superman: The Art and Making of the Film’
Marcus Errico
James Gunn ushered in his big-screen DC Universe over the summer with the delightfully comic-booky Superman, introducing new players and a new palette to the Man of Steel story. The forthcoming companion book Superman: The Art and Making of the Film by James Field offers a glimpse behind the curtain, via a treasure trove of storyboards, concept art, behind-the-scenes photographs, and interviews with Gunn, his cast, and crew. And Gold Derby has a sneak peek.
In his foreword, the new Supes, David Corenswet, shares what it was like reading the script for the first time: “Those first 10 pages absolutely floored me. A super dog. … A kaiju — and I had to look up what a kaiju even was.” In Gold Derby’s exclusive excerpts from the book, we see how that kaiju and super dog were visualized by the production team.
The Kaiju
Gunn storyboarded the entire film, including the sequence at the outset of the film where the unnamed, rapidly growing kaiju wreaks havoc on Metropolis. In his storyboards, which are included in the Art & Making of the Film, Gunn’s behemoth looks something like a second-rate Godzilla villain. It was up to his long-time production designer, Beth Mickle, and Legacy Effects to help bring the beast to life.
“He’s about 300 feet tall, so he’s about the height of most of the 25-, 30-, 35-story buildings there,” says Mickle. “It was over the course of two or three weeks playing around with ideas. We wanted it to have an almost crustacean-like back with these spikes and then a long tail for the sweep where it knocks over a bunch of the cars.” (Click on the images below for a high-res version.)
Watch the full scene play out:
Krypto
As Gunn informed the world, Krypto is based on the director's own rescue mutt, Ozu, aka "the world's worst dog." "He immediately came in and destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture — he even ate my laptop," Gunn said. "I remember thinking, 'Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?'" That's when Krypto entered the new Superman story.
"Ozu is kind of a smaller dog, and Krypto is a bit bigger, so we actually scanned Ozu and he has some very specific anatomical references — especially an ear that stays up all the time,” visual effects supervisor Stéphane Ceretti says in the Art & Making of the Film. The VFX team "mashed up" Ozu and a scan of a larger dog to create the cinematic canine. (That's a reference photo of Ozu in the top left.)
Excerpts from the new book Superman: The Art and Making of the Film (Abrams) by James Field, introduction by James Gunn, foreword by David Corenswet, available Nov. 18. Copyright 2025 DC and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
