Did You Catch Kal-El in the Latest Superman Trailer?

It won’t be long now before Superman flies into theaters, and as the release date draws closer, anticipation among fans continues to grow. Recently, a new trailer for Superman dropped, and in all honesty, it looks fantastic. In the clip, we see David Corenswet switch between Superman and Clark Kent—not just through a change of wardrobe, but through a complete shift in personality and voice. Now, what if I told you there’s a third persona he portrays in the trailer—one you might have missed? That persona is none other than Kal-El.

David Corenswet’s Switch from Clark Kent to Superman

As the trailer for Superman starts rolling, we see that Clark agrees to give an interview to Lois Lane as Superman. By the looks of it, it seems that Superman is facing a backlash because he stopped a war somewhere in the world. Since he is considered a US citizen, his acts are being taken as a response from the US. Now, the thing to note here is that when Corenswet is talking to Lois as Clark, his voice is timid, soft, and reserved, which is generally how Clark Kent is presented in DC comics.

However, as soon as Lois Lane starts interviewing him as Superman, his composure and his voice change drastically. His voice becomes deep, commanding, and what can only be described as heroic. This attention to detail brought in by James Gunn for the Superman movie is truly brilliant and is a tribute to Christopher Reeve, who was the first Superman actor to do so. However, gone in a split second, there is another personality that David Corenswet brings forward – Kal-El, the alien.

The Kal-El Side of Superman in the Trailer

As I said above, as brilliant as David Corenswet’s portrayal of two different people in one is, what truly caught me off guard was the subtle acknowledgment that Clark, after all, is an alien. In the trailer, when David says, “But people were going to die!”—almost yelling in frustration—it’s not Superman, and it’s not Clark speaking. It’s Kal-El.

In DC Comics, there are several moments where it’s made clear that, even though Clark was raised on Earth, he deeply resents the divisions that exist in the world.

Moreover, after discovering the truth about Krypton’s destruction, he became determined to ensure that Earth does not meet the same fate. This stems from his understanding that humans are making the same mistakes as the Kryptonians—mistakes that ultimately led to the downfall of his home planet. Think about it this way: Clark Kent is a journalist. He knows what’s happening in the world and how it works. And yet, he’s frustrated that Superman is being questioned for saving lives.

That frustration comes from being an alien—one who already knows the kind of future a divided and reckless world might face. He struggles to accept that humanity would rather let people fight and die than take steps to stop it. But when someone like Kal-El—or Superman—does intervene, they question his loyalties.

Something similar has previously been explored in Action Comics #900. In that issue, Superman renounces his U.S. citizenship in front of the United Nations. He does this to make it clear that his actions aren’t tied to one nation and that his responsibility is to the world, not just the United States.

Given the political conflict hinted at in the trailer, we may see a version of this unfold in the upcoming Superman movie. So, let’s wait and see what happens on July 11, 2025.