Krypto gets his own series and goes beyond Superman in the new DCU: here’s everything we know

Krypto is ready to step out of Superman’s shadow and maybe destroy a couch or two along the way. With a confirmed role in the upcoming Superman film, a special appearance in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and a solo series of animated shorts in development, the superdog is no longer just a sidekick. He’s a star in his own right, a chaotic charmer with Kryptonian powers and real emotional bite.

Inspired by James Gunn’s actual rescue dog, Krypto arrives as the perfect mascot for this new DCU chapter: unpredictable, heartfelt, and kind of a menace in the best possible way.

Krypto in Superman (2025): meet the not-so-good-good-boy

Krypto is officially joining the DCU with a full-blown role in Superman, set to hit theaters on July 11, 2025. He’s not a background gag, not a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo. He’s fully rendered in CGI, modeled in 3D after the actual body of James Gunn’s rescue dog, and ready to steal scenes, chew through wires, and emotionally disarm both heroes and us.

From what we’ve seen so far, he’s got the eyes of an angel and the instincts of a small, furry wrecking ball. Gunn has made it very clear that this isn’t a sanitized and obedient version of Krypto. This is a dog with attitude, rough edges, and a lot of narrative bite.

Speaking to the press, he explained how the character was shaped during the writing process and how the chaos of his actual dog, Ozu, inspired the role.

“Krypto came into the script and changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life. What better time to debut the not-so-good-good-boy Krypto than now?”

The not-so-good-good-boy nickname is a warning. Gunn adds:

“You’ll see in the movie that Krypto probably comes off as a better dog in the trailer than he is in the movie. Pretty terrible dog. You love him because he’s a dog and how can you not? And he’s got the cute, innocent eyes, but he’s a terrible dog.”

The fact that Gunn talks about Krypto with equal parts affection and alarm says a lot. This isn’t a cute pet there to soften Superman’s image. It’s more like a furry metaphor for the DCU itself, unpredictable, charged with emotion, and constantly on the verge of knocking something over.

From chewed laptops to Kryptonian legend: the real Ozu behind Krypto

Before he was a superdog, Krypto was just a disaster on four legs. Or at least his real-world counterpart was. James Gunn adopted Ozu from a shelter while he was in the early stages of writing Superman. The dog had a traumatic past, having lived in harsh conditions that left him fearful and reactive. Ozu tore through furniture, devoured shoes, and, in one particularly expensive episode, destroyed Gunn’s brand-new laptop.

“He destroyed every single thing in my house. He chewed up all my shoes, he chewed up my furniture, he chewed up my new $8,000 laptop.”

But even while Gunn was reeling from the damage, something about Ozu struck a creative nerve. As Ozu adapted and grew more affectionate, Gunn began to see emotional parallels with the kind of journey he wanted for Krypto.

The dog wasn’t just wild. He was expressive, unpredictable, full of sharp instincts, and strange emotional presence. That energy found its way into the story, reshaping how Gunn imagined Superman’s world.

“Ozu is terrible to anyone who comes near him. He kind of looked like my old dog on crack. I thought, ‘Oh my God, what if this dog had superpowers? I’d be f***ed.’ And I said, ‘Now I know what I’m going to do with Superman.’”

That spark became Krypto. Not a loyal golden retriever in a cape, but something more raw and reflective of the kind of emotional messiness Gunn often builds into his characters. Ozu ended up redefining what a superdog could be.

A pup on Krypton – Krypto’s appearance in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Before the chaos, the chewed-up shoes, and the emotional baggage, there was a puppy. In Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Krypto is rumored to appear in flashbacks set on Krypton, a brief but striking glimpse of a gentler time, when he was not soaring through the sky or fighting alien threats. He was just there, a small white blur of loyalty at Kara’s side, sharing a childhood that was about to vanish.

The scene is expected to be short, but the impact? Anything but. By placing Krypto in Kara’s past, the film builds a thread of memory that cuts through the wreckage of Krypton’s fall, adding depth to both characters, a reminder that even the most powerful survivors lost something soft and ordinary when their world burned.

And it’s a smart move. Instead of parachuting Krypto into each story as comic relief, the DCU is planting emotional roots. He’s not just Superman’s dog. He’s part of the planet they lost, the innocence they’ll never get back, and the bond that once made Krypton feel like home.

Krypto unleashed – the solo series of shorts

A new chapter in the DCU begins not with a hero in a cape, but with a dog. Krypto is getting a series of animated shorts, each one telling a fragment of his story with bite, charm, and unexpected weight in a light family comedy format designed to capture Krypto’s spirit in quick beats.

These shorts won’t follow a linear path but will weave together memories and turning points, sketching how Krypto became more than just someone’s pet. From the ruins of Krypton to the silent stretches of space and finally to the forming of his bond with Superman, the series will focus on standalone stories without delving into his connection with Superman.

It’s a strange, intimate way to build mythology, and that’s exactly why it can work. Krypto’s story doesn’t need grand speeches or slow-motion hero shots. It needs sharp details, quick punches of feeling, and the kind of quiet chaos that only a dog, real or animated, can bring to life.

A legacy in motion – Krypto’s animated past and his new DCU future

Krypto’s leap into a solo project isn’t coming out of nowhere. The superdog already has a legacy in animation, most notably with Krypto the Superdog, a 2005–2006 Cartoon Network series that ran for 39 episodes.

That version portrayed Krypto as a clean-cut, well-mannered hero in a red cape, helping other animal allies and protecting Metropolis with a bark that always saved the day. It was bright, sincere, and aimed at kids, but it helped cement Krypto as more than a comic book footnote.

The new iteration is headed somewhere very different. According to early reports, the upcoming series of animated shorts will debut in fall 2025 and will consist of four episodes. Each one will stand on its own while feeding into a larger arc that explores Krypto’s spirit and identity. The tone, much like the new DCU, leans more toward the chaotic, emotionally layered, and stylistically unfiltered.

Together, these two versions form a kind of evolution. From Saturday morning cartoons to space-age misfit myths. And in the middle of it all is the same white dog, still trying to find where he belongs.

Let’s not forget DC League of Super-Pets (2022), where Krypto was voiced by Dwayne Johnson in a surprisingly heartfelt performance that balanced heroism with puppy-level chaos.

From toy shelves to T-shirts – the merchandising power of a superdog

Even before taking flight on screen, Krypto is already leaving paw prints across every corner of DC's commercial game. Stores are lined with toys that bark, fly, and sparkle. There are plush versions with heroic poses, action figures with voice clips, vintage reissues, T-shirts with retro flair, and collector’s items styled like Kryptonian tech. The rollout isn’t timid. It’s exuberant, calculated, and oddly charming, as if Warner Bros. knows they’ve struck merchandising gold with a dog who can’t sit still.

What makes Krypto such a perfect fit for this moment isn’t just his powers or pedigree. It’s the way he embodies contradiction. He’s loyal but unpredictable, adorable with a wild streak, and equally at home on a lunchbox or in a tragic flashback about lost planets.

This emotional range is what gives the brand room to stretch, not just for kids but for older fans too, the ones who grew up with comics and now want something stranger, sharper, a little more unhinged.

His first teaser didn’t come with orchestral build-up or dramatic lighting. It dropped during the Puppy Bowl. No slow pans, no digital storm clouds, just a white dog floating through the void like it was born to be memed. It was playful, bold, and perfectly aligned with the kind of DCU Gunn seems to be building.

What Krypto tells us about the new DCU

You can tell a lot about a cinematic universe by the characters it chooses to elevate. Some start with gods or billionaires in armor. This one started with "monsters" (Creature Commandos) and is now moving forward with a dog who chews electronics and crashes through emotional boundaries without warning.

Krypto might seem like an odd mascot for the DCU, but maybe that’s exactly the point. He doesn’t walk with elegance or speak in riddles. He knocks things over, wags through tension, and loves too loudly. He bites, barks, flails, and stays close to the ones who matter. And somehow, through all of that, he becomes the heart of a universe still figuring itself out.