Possibly thanks to some computer wizardry from the heartless machine-man Braniac, a trailer for Syfy’s Krypton TV show has apparently leaked. Like a chunk of debris from an exploded planet, the video is quickly making its way across the internet, but since the clip hasn’t been released by Syfy itself just yet, there’s a good chance some or all of it could change. As for what actually happens in the trailer, it looks like a sci-fi spin on the drama of shows like Game Of Thrones, but with just enough winking and nodding to the Superman mythos to make it seem like one of those superhero shows everybody watches these days.
Krypton focuses on Cameron Cuffe’s young Seg-El, Superman’s grandfather, and the trailer opens with him addressing his future descendent in a recorded message about his mission to save Krypton from some unknown threat (it can’t be the impending explosion, because that doesn’t happen for a long time). Unlike his son Jor-El, who always seems to have a swanky space house when we see it in Superman comics and movies pre-explosion, Seg-El is more of a grubby street rat, who spends the trailer sulking through Kryptonian streets, examining a Kandor-esque bottled city, and using a stick with the Superman emblem (or House Of El seal) to access a pedestal that literally has the Superman emblem on it. He also talks about some kind of rebellion that the House Of El attempts to pull, but it’s unclear if that happens in Seg-El’s future or if it has already failed and that’s why he’s a grubby street rat in the first place.
Based on this trailer (which comes via io9), it’s still unclear how any of this could possibly impact or reflect any famous storylines or events from the Superman universe, but Krypton could easily do what Fox’s Gotham does and just twist the comic book canon in a way that allows it to introduce tweaked versions of famous characters. Until that happens, at least it has some interesting Superman-inspired visuals, including weird spaceships and a dude with a golden head who looks like Marvel’s Living Tribunal with twice as many faces.
Syfy is reportedly planning to begin airing Krypton later this year.
[Note: io9, like The A.V. Club, is owned by Univision Communications.]