Krypo the Superdog spurs huge interest in dog adoption!

James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe is off to an excellent start, with Superman soaring at the box office. The new movie kicks off a whole new franchise that hopes to rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Superman is unashamedly a comic book movie. Writer-director James Gunn dives head-first into the whacky and whimsical comic book aspects with a flourish, even introducing the hero's canine companion, Krypto. Naturally, like any furry friend, Krypto has won the hearts of fans around the globe. And according to reports, this love for Krypto the Superdog has sparked a massive interest in dog adoption.

According to The Wrap, Superman inspired a 500% surge in dog adoption interest. The specific numbers come from dog training app Woofz, which showed that Google searches for “adopt a dog near me” rose 513% and “rescue dog adoption near me” increased by 163%.

Searches got specific, too, being tailored towards Krypto's breed with “adopt a schnauzer” increasing by a massive 299%. With Krypto-hype as enormous as it is, Woofz’ CEO Natalia Shahmetova has spoken candidly, asking fans to be sensible in their decisions. “Adoption is a real commitment," she said. "The hype will fade, but your dog will stay, so make sure you’re ready to give them the time, care, and training they need and deserve.”

Krypto is based on Ozu, James Gunn’s own rescue dog who, he adopted while in the process of penning the script for the movie. When the filmmaker heard that Krypto had spurred interest in dog adoption, he celebrated it on X: "This film has been a barrage of blessings for me: this one may be the greatest."

I can imagine Krypto will be the hottest dog name of the summer. Superman is carrying on the tradition of Game of Thrones, which inspired people to give their dogs direwolf names like Lady, Summer, Ghost, Nymeria, Grey Wind, and Shaggydog.

Superman is now playing in theaters. Watch for Superman; stay for Krypto.

First poster for Supergirl debuts

With Superman such a big success, everyone is looking forward to what comes next in this new DCU. That would be Supergirl, starring House of the Dragon's Milly Alcock as Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El. James Gunn just dropped the first poster, above.

Gunn is only producing Supergirl; it's written by Ana Nogueira and directed by Craig Gillespie. As fans saw at the end of Superman, Supergirl is a different sort of superhero, with Gunn describing her as "a total mess." She's also Krypto's owner, which means the dog will likely show up in her movie! That basically guarantees it a built-in audience.

Supergirl is due out in theaters on June 26 of next year.

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