- The official trailer for James Gunn’s Superman movie has been released
- It appeared online after its premiere at Warner Bros’ Upfront 2025 presentation
- The rebooted DC Universe’s first movie flies into theaters in mid-July
The official trailer for James Gunn’s Superman movie has taken flight and it confirms David Corenswet’s titular hero will face off against yet another foe in the hotly anticipated comic book film.
Moments after its worldwide premiere during Warner Bros’ Upfront 2025 presentation, the DC Universe (DCU) flick’s latest teaser, one which commits the cardinal sin I didn’t want from Superman‘s second trailer, was released online. Before we dig into its biggest talking point, i.e. who the aforementioned villain is, though, watch it for the first (or 10th, I’m not judging!) time below because there’s a lot to unpack and enjoy.
The DCU Chapter One movie’s latest trailer comes almost five months after the Superman‘s Krypto scene-stealing first teaser landed online.
Since then, Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Studios have slowly begun to ramp up their marketing campaign for Superman‘s latest big-screen adventure. That promotional push has fully taken off in recent weeks, with the release of a new Superman clip that showed off the film’s jaw-dropping Fortress of Solitude, numerous TV spots, and its latest round of footage leading the charge for a campaign DC Studios has dubbed as the ‘Summer of Superman’.
Who is the Hammer of Boravia in Superman?
Alright, so who is this armored suit-wearing individual that Supes is seen battling above Metropolis? According to an edition of the Daily Planet newspaper that appeared in the movie’s first trailer, they’re simply known as the Hammer of Boravia.
Now, Boravia is a fictional nation that’s appeared in Superman comic books. However, the so-called Hammer is an original character created specifically for one of 2025’s most exciting new movies. Given their mysterious title, the Hammer hails from this country, which appears to have been repurposed as a Middle Eastern state for Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC cinematic franchise.
Here’s the thing, though: I’m not convinced that the Hammer of Boravia is a totally new metahuman who’s been invented for Superman. I believe this is simply a ruse and that the individual beneath the armor is one of two other foes – but not the one teased in Superman‘s first-look image – that Corenswet’s Clark Kent will have to contend with in this film.
Potentially big spoilers follow for Superman. Do not proceed if you don’t want this possible story detail ruined ahead of release!
The first option is that the Hammer of Boravia is none other than Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor. As one of Superman’s most notorious antagonists, it’s not a stretch to assume that the incredibly gifted supervillain could invent and wield a near-Superman-proof super-suit that would allow him to go toe-to-toe with someone that Luthor clearly despises.
That said, I can’t see Luthor being the one to masquerade as this superpowered being. After all, It’s not in his nature to get his hands dirty. Instead, I think it’s a different foe and one we’ve previously seen in Superman‘s first trailer: Ultraman.
Think back to (or, rather, re-watch) said teaser and you’ll be reminded that the Man of Steel battled someone wearing an all-black costume in a US football stadium. Clearly, Supes is having a real tough time with this individual – so much so, in fact, that numerous observers have claimed Ultraman must be a laboratory-grown clone of Clark Kent/Kal-El.
This isn’t outside of the realms of possibility. An evil, alternate reality version of Superman, one called Ultraman, already exists in DC Comics. Then there’s the fact that the Hammer of Boravia is seen shooting laser beams from underneath his visor in Superman‘s latest trailer. Heat vision is one of Supes’ most iconic superpowers, so it stands to reason that a clone would possess a similar ability.
Add in the prospect of Luthor realizing that the only way he can defeat Superman is to genetically engineer a clone who can literally beat Kent in a one-on-one battle, and the evidence seems undeniable. The Hammer of Boravia/Ultraman simply has to be a replica of the titular metahuman.
Of course, this is all speculation, but all signs point towards the Hammer being a bait-and-switch move on Gunn’s part – one where the Hammer will eventually be unmasked as Ultraman and, by proxy, a carbon copy of Superman himself. We’ll find out for sure when the film achieves lift-off in theaters worldwide on July 11.
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tom.power@futurenet.com (Tom Power)
