New DCU Concept Art Reveals the Original Design for Superman’s Sidekick (Photos)

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Recently revealed concept art gives fans a first look at the initial design for Superman’s sidekick as he appears in the new DC Universe. David Corenswet’s Superman wasn’t alone in his debut film by James Gunn; he was shown with several allies, including Krypto the Super-Dog, the Justice Gang, and Supergirl.

Among Superman’s allies, Robot 4 – a dependable robotic friend voiced by Alan Tudyk – held a special place. He looked after Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, maintaining the superhero’s icy headquarters. While the final version of Robot 4 had a blue design matching Superman’s suit, this wasn’t the original idea.

As a longtime fan, I was flipping through the new book, Superman: The Art and Making of the Film, and stumbled upon something really fascinating. It turns out the 2025 blockbuster almost featured a very different design for Superman’s robotic pal! The book showcases some unused concept art, giving us a peek at how that character could have looked. It’s cool to see the creative process and the paths not taken, honestly.

Reddit users discovered some early character designs that didn’t make it into the final movie. These designs featured different versions of the character, including swapped-out mechanical parts and some surprising color schemes.

Four of the designs considered had a similar blue and yellow color scheme to the final version, but with some different parts used in their construction.

I was really intrigued to see some early concept art showing the characters potentially having a much more metallic feel. Apparently, the artists explored a lot of different silver and chrome options instead of going with the final blue look – it’s cool to see what could have been!

Superman’s robotic helpers in the comics are usually just plain silver. However, James Gunn and the team at DC Studios decided to design them to look more like Superman himself.

You can see Robot 4 alongside Superman in the 2025 film Superman, which will be streaming on HBO Max. The movie is a fresh start for the DC universe, and it shows the first encounter between Superman (played by David Corenswet) and his greatest enemy, Lex Luthor (played by Nicholas Hoult).

Where Will Superman’s Robots Turn Up Next?

One of the most memorable parts of James Gunn’s new Superman movie was Alan Tudyk’s character, Robot 4, and the army of robots he led. Though they were destroyed during the attack on the Fortress of Solitude, it looks like they’ll be back in future DC Universe films.

It was so cool to see Tudyk’s robot character one last time at the end of Superman! After the big fight with Lex, as Superman flew back to the Fortress of Solitude, it was the robots who helped him get settled. They even put on a little slideshow with Iggy Pop music playing – it was like a sweet trip down memory lane for him, and honestly, it was a really touching moment.

It’s likely Superman’s robot helpers will reappear if the Fortress of Solitude is included in the new DC Universe movies. Right now, Superman is only confirmed to be in one DCU project: Superman: Man of Tomorrow.

Okay, so from what I’m hearing about the next Superman movie – the one slated for 2027 – it sounds like things are getting really interesting. Apparently, Superman will have to team up with Lex Luthor – Lex! – to fight a bigger threat, which everyone’s guessing is Brainiac. And if that’s true, I’m betting we’ll see a lot more of Robot 4 and the whole crew at the Fortress of Solitude. They’ll probably be crucial to helping Superman and Lex figure things out.

It doesn’t seem likely these characters will reappear before then. While there’s a possibility they could show up in next year’s Supergirl due to the main character’s Kryptonian background, it’s currently unknown how much of that movie will even take place on Earth.

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2025-11-29 20:35