No, the Superman Trailer Doesn’t Look Weird, It’s Probably Your Device

James Gunn’s Superman movie trailer came flying in like a speeding bullet and immediately got the world’s attention. There’s already a lot of discourse and debate about Funn’s version of Superman – especially one set in a world that’s already populated with many other heroes. However, beyond all the discourse about Gunn’s vision of Superman, the performances of lead cast members David Corenswet (Clark Kent/Superman) and Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), and whether Gunn is working with too many threads of the larger DCU was a technical concern: the color gradient of the footage.

The Long Debate About Superman Coloring

DC fans have been somewhat critical of how Superman looks on film ever since Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel dropped its first teaser trailer back in 2012. Snyder presented fans with a desaturated version of a modern Superman – reflecting the ‘dark and gritty’ trend of 2010s superhero films. Immediately there was criticism of coloring approach – and it would continue to be a major talking point within the DC fandom throughout the Snyderverse era of the franchise. In fact, when James Gunn directed his first DC movie, The Suicide Squad, it’s bright, colorful tones quickly drew a line in the sand for many fans, between the Snyderverse and “Gunnverse” – one that many fans defined by (among other things) the clear difference in color grading.

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The main focus of the complaints about Snyder was that he robbed Superman of the hopefulness and optimism that conveyed through bright, colorful depictions of the heroic icon. It was thought that getting a new version of Superman that comes in that bright, colorful, format was giving fans what they wanted – but alas, now “too much color” is one of the most common complaints about the footage.

Why Does Gunn’s Superman Trailer Footage Coloring Look So Weird?

We can only speculate, since we can’t peek under the hood to check out all the filming techiques and cameras Gunn used on Superman; that said, film tech enthusiasts and cinephiles have been freely offering some explanations for why Gunn’s Superman trailer may not be getting the ideal presentation on certain devices.

Long technical breakdown made short: It looks like Gunn is using a wide and very dynamic scale of color grading and contrasts in the film – not to mention ratios that favor the planned IMAX format of Superman that Warner Bros. and DC Studios no doubt want to sell people on. In terms of the colors: techniques like “split toning clor contrast” seem to be getting applied to the footage, allowing Gunn to selectively higlight certain parts of an image against background that might be of a cooler tone. The thematic reasoning makes sense – i.e., Superman having a “brighter” presence within a world that is drab-looking in the background.

However, technically speaking, it may be a lot for certain devices to handle the complexity of some shots in the trailer, if that device has certain coloring or tonal deficiencies in certain areas (like creating sharp black tones, balancing hues and color temperatures properly, etc).

So yes, scenes like Clark Kent or Superman trying to move through human crowds may look mismatched to the hero out flying and fighting in a bright superhero fantasy moment; and depending on the ratio scale, moments like Superman punching his way out of box may seem flater or more fish-eyed in scope on a smaller screen (like you phone).

What’s the Best Way to Watch the Superman Trailer?

After taking the time to view the Superman trailer on a phone, a tablet, compter monitors, laptops and 4K TV, we can say that it’s clear that Gunn, his Superman cinematographer (and longtime collaborator) Henry Braham, and DC Studios/Warner Bros. are creating cinematic content for 4K – 8K TV technology that will become the new standard in home viewing over the next few years. Gunn’s footage definitely utilitlizes the deep-bench range of visual display features and options that even top line brands like Sony offer – and to the director’s credit, the Superman footage holds up to that instensive technological scrutinuy – down to being able to see every individiual bump of texture in Corenswet’s Superman suit.

Watching the Superman trailer on a big , 4K (or above) TV is the way to go; if that option isn’t available to you, then a tablet or laptop that is able to play higher resolutions like 1440p and 2160p (4K) would be the next best option. Both 1440p and 2160p versions of the Superman trailer are available to view on YouTube.

Superman has a release date of July 11, 2025.