A dog is a Man of Steel’s best friend. Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XXI kicked off on Super Bowl Sunday with a special message from Superman director James Gunn and his real-life rescue pup Ozu, who inspired Krypto the Superdog in the upcoming DC Studios film. Now in its 21st year, the “ulti-mutt” call-to-adoption television event featured 142 rescue puppies from 80 shelters across 40 states and two countries to raise awareness for one of the most superheroic acts of all: adopting animals in need of fur-ever homes.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“I’m here with my pal Ozu, a rescue pup we adopted back when I was writing the script for my latest film, Superman,” the DC Studios co-chief says in the video message, which you can watch below. “And as Ozu was changing our lives, he became the inspiration for a character in the film that I can’t wait for you to meet: Superman’s best friend, Krypto.”
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“Krypto has all the powers of Superman and is lovable as mischievous as many of the irresistible pups you’ll see today,” Gunn said of Puppy Bowl XXI, which marked the first-ever Krypto Super Play awarded to the pup who displayed “super” abilities.
In October, Gunn shared the story of his rescue dog, who is featured rescuing the Man of Steel (David Corenswet) in the Superman trailer that flew online in December.
“Ozu, who came from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs and never knew human beings, was problematic to say the least,” Gunn wrote in a social media post. “He immediately came in and destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture — he even ate my laptop. It took a long time before he would even let us touch him.”
Gunn continued, “I remember thinking, ‘Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?’ – and thus Krypto came into the script and changed the shape of the story as Ozu was changing my life.” Describing the cape-wearing Krypto as the “not-so-good-good-boy,” the post was made in honor of Adopt-a-Dog Month, which American Humane celebrates every October to give prospective owners the resources to adopt the estimated 3-4 million animals in shelters across America.
Superman — starring David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, with Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion as the Guy Gardner Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, María Gabriela de Faría as the Engineer, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell as Pa and Ma Kent, and Alan Tudyk in an as-yet-undisclosed role — soars into theaters on July 11.
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Image Courtesy of DC Studios -
Image Credit: James Gunn/X
