Meet Ozu: The real-life dog behind Superman’s pet Krypto in James Gunn’s film
A dog rescued by James Gunn brought the Man of Steel’s canine companion to life.
Krypto, the red-cloaked flying dog that accompanies the Man of Steel in the new Superman movie, is not just a digital addition to the cast; he has an origin story as peculiar as his indomitable nature. This superdog, who made his first appearance in DC comics in 1955, has made it to the big screen thanks to a very personal source of inspiration for director James Gunn: his own rescue dog, Ozu.
The story behind Ozu, the dog that inspired Krypto
At the time, James Gunn revealed with The New York Times the story behind Krypto, and how, Ozu inspires this dog. In order to bring it to a digital format, Gunn worked with three visual effects companies to create a CGI copy that could be used to bring Krypto to life. According to Gunn, this process, which Ozu “hated,” required the dog to be surrounded by cameras at all angles to create a 3D image. Also, as an actual dog owner, he used several of Ozu’s videos of him playing to bring the movements to the screen.
“I have tons of videos of them playing,” the director told the Times. “In fact, when Krypto is jumping on Superman at the beginning of the movie, that’s all based on footage of him playing with my cat.”
Ozu, from problem dog to inspiration
Gunn also commented that the relationship with Ozu at first was not the best, coming from a situation where the dog lived in a yard with 60 other dogs, “He immediately came in & destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture - he even ate my laptop,” Gunn wrote. “It took a long time before he would even let us touch him.” But it was thanks to this adoption that Krypto also made it into the Superman script.
Fortunately, it won’t be the last time we see Krypto, as the next DC Studios movie is Supergirl, with Kara Zor-El being the dog’s real owner. We can only hope to continue seeing Ozu (or rather, his digital version) on the big screen.
Related stories
Follow MeriStation USA on X (formerly known as Twitter). Your video game and entertainment website for all the news, updates, and breaking news from the world of video games, movies, series, manga, and anime. Previews, reviews, interviews, trailers, gameplay, podcasts and more! Follow us now!
Complete your personal details to comment