Justice League's Trailer Is Great, But Where The Hell Is Superman?

Superman surrounded by a crowd in Dawn of Justice

Today is an exciting one for DC fans. Because the first full trailer for Zack Snyder's highly anticipated Justice League movie has finally hit the web, to the joy of fans who had been waiting for new footage from the team up movie. The new trailer featured a crap ton of epic action moments and ties to other DCEU films, but there was one aspect that was noticeably absent: where the hell was Superman? While his death at the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will surely factor into the film, we assumed we'd see at least a glimpse of Henry Cavill's hero (probably in his black suit). But alas, there was 0 Superman in the Justice League trailer.

This was definitely a bit of a shocker for fans of the DCEU. Henry Cavill is obviously attached to reprise his role in Justice League, but the size and contents of his character are still very much a mystery. The final shot of Dawn of Justice saw the dirt above Clark's coffin levitate briefly, which seemed to hint that Supes would be immediately rising from the grave. But it now looks like he might not be in as much of the film as previously anticipated.

While the main conflict of Justice League will revolve around Batman and Wonder Woman assembling the team to protect Earth from Darkseid's Parademon forces, many fans theorized that Superman could be a third act Mcguffin. Maybe he could come back from the dead in a somewhat villainous or confused state, or rise from the grave to save his metahuman comrades from a near death experience. These are all just theories at this point, though.

But now that Superman has been neglected from the trailer, is it possible that his role will be microscopic? I don't know about you, but I'm having some serious flashbacks to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The trailers for J.J. Abrams' movie were noticeably missing Luke, and fans assumed this was so his appearance was an exciting surprise. And then we got this:

Is it possible that Superman's appearance in Justice League will be this limited as well? While disappointing, this might actually help flesh out the newer characters. With The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman getting their first full blown appearances, it might help to have less puzzle pieces in play. Then again, the DCEU was founded with Man of Steel, so his exclusion might feel disjointed.

Justice League will arrive in theaters on November 17, 2017. Be sure to check out the new trailer on the next page.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.