Up until now, we felt kind of “meh” about Krypton, Syfy’s upcoming Superman prequel series. With a dozen other superhero shows on the air right now, it’s hard to get excited about an Inhumans lookalike starring another square-jawed TV hunk in a leather jacket. But Syfy just released a teaser video about Brainiac, and he looks genuinely cool.
Brainiac is a classic DC Comics villain, a green-skinned cyborg with links to Superman’s backstory. Since Krypton is about Superman’s grandfather, he’s a perfect fit. This featurette introduces Brainiac’s skull-shaped spaceship and some CGI-heavy scenes that suggest Krypton has a bigger budget than we thought. It also shows actor Blake Ritson in some seriously transformative makeup, giving him a real Supreme Leader Snoke vibe.
This is just the second time we’ve seen a live-action version of the character, following James Marsters’ disappointingly human-looking role in Smallville.
Krypton stars Cameron Cuffe as Superman’s grandfather Seg-El, fighting to regain his family honor. By introducing Adam Strange, a time traveler from present-day Earth, the trailer suggests he has closer ties to Superman than you expect. Seg-El seems to face a choice about Krypton’s future destruction, putting Superman’s Earthbound timeline in jeopardy.
Krypton begins on March 21.