The iconic Man of Steel is soaring high once more! James Gunn, the celebrated filmmaker and DC Studios head, is seeing his Superman movie reboot, a pivotal launchpad for his ambitious DC Universe cinematic plans, achieve phenomenal success. The film has garnered a staggering $261 million worldwide in its opening weeks, with the peak summer movie season still ahead. The Superman story is set to expand, with a follow-up featuring Supergirl starring Milly Alcock of “House of the Dragon”. She will be introduced in a cameo in Superman, and is expected to grace cinema screens in 2026.
But a pressing question arises: Where is a truly great Superman video game?
Gunn envisions a DCU where storytelling seamlessly connects across various media, hoping Warner Bros. Games’ projects align perfectly with his vision. As he stated in 2023, a key objective is to ensure a cohesive and interconnected DCU across film, television, gaming, and animation, with consistent character portrayals and shared narratives. However, the sheer scale of this undertaking reportedly caused concern among Marvel game developers. Furthermore, recent significant changes within WB Games have created uncertainty regarding the studio’s future direction. (Notably, a Wonder Woman game, which was in development for several years, was canceled earlier this year in February).
If Gunn succeeds in unifying the cinematic universe, his interpretation of Superman could potentially resolve the persistent issues that have plagued previous Superman games. As a prior investigation into Superman titles highlighted, ranging from the infamous “Superman 64” to the flawed “Superman Returns” tie-in, there was no single cause for these shortcomings. Technical limitations posed challenges, like creating convincing flight within an open-world environment. The vast scope of Superman’s abilities, as detailed in his comprehensive powers list, also presented difficulties.
Gunn appears to address these concerns directly through a well-developed DCU “world” spanning vast timelines and featuring a diverse array of contemporary heroes and villains capable of testing Kal-El. This Superman could be the focus of a video game similar to Rocksteady’s Arkham Batman series where the action starts immediately.
However, Gunn may have provided WB Games with an even more compelling solution: it is time for a Krypto game.
The recent debut of Krypto, Superman’s canine companion, along with the ongoing plea for more canine characters in video games, strongly suggests that a Krypto game would be the perfect solution to the long-standing lack of compelling Superman-related games.
Seeing trailer of “Barkour” made it all come together.
The upcoming spy thriller from VARSAV Game Studios puts you in the role of Agent THUNDER, a James Bond-style dog who can run, jump, and take down criminal organizations. Even on Steam, the developers openly admit their entire concept celebrates “charming absurdity.” And how else could one describe Gunn’s take on Krypto? One of the differentiating factors between Clark Kent and Supergirl’s pet companion is communication. Superman is there to save the world and make people feel good about life and morality. Krypto will help, but he may also just tear up the house.
Instead of just “petting the dog”, it’s time to BE the dog. In this case, one who can fly. Titles like “Stray” and “Little Kitty, Big City” show players are definitely ready for a quest from the perspective of an animal. And while “Spirit of the North”, which puts the player in the role of a fox on a Nordic adventure, edges toward some of the possibilities of superpowered animal abilities, the execution is somber and nowhere near what you could do with Krypto’s energy. Who should let the dogs out? Gunn and WB Games.
“I believe a truly outstanding Superman game has to achieve a balance of the superhero and the player caring about the everyday citizen”, Laura Davila, an environmental artist who worked on the 2006 game “Superman Returns”, told Polygon last year. So, maybe don’t focus on Superman, who will stick to the skies. Unleashed, Krypto could actually deliver exactly that long-awaited gameplay.