A Hilarious Fan Theory About Superman's Jimmy Olsen Makes Total Sense

James Gunn/Warner Bros.

James Gunn's "Superman" is absolutely stacked with characters, and the Daily Planet newsroom is no different. Metropolis' newspaper will be staffed by Rachel Brosnahan as Clark Kent's fellow reporter and love interest Lois Lane, while Wendell Pierce of "The Wire" fame will portray editor-in-chief Perry White. We'll also see Beck Bennet as sports reporter Steve Lombard and Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, but surely one of the most intriguing characters is Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen.

Gisondo ("Santa Clarita Diet," "The Righteous Gemstones") will portray the cub reporter in what is likely to be one of the character's most prominent big-screen appearances in a while. Why? Because Zack Snyder decided it was best to take this beloved "Superman" character and turn him into a CIA operative (played by Michael Cassidy) who is almost immediately killed off in "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice." Following that unceremonious DC Extended Universe appearance, Jimmy will return, as embodied by Gisondo, in Gunn's take on the Man of Steel, and he'll hopefully last a little while longer than Cassidy's version.

After filming wrapped at the end of July, Warner Bros. dropped the first "Superman" trailer, introducing Gunn's bold new DC Universe, in spectacular fashion. While fans have been distracted by the fact the trailer also introduced DC's most adorable character in the form of Krypto the Superdog, some have suggested that specific shots from the preview hint at a big Jimmy Olsen twist.

Warner Bros.

The "Superman" trailer is a veritable smorgasbord of Easter eggs. The teaser has "Dragon Ball Z" fans obsessing over one particularly dark moment, while that robot that David Corenswet's Man of Steel kneels over in one quick shot is actually more important than you might think. Now, fans have taken things a step further by developing their own Jimmy Olsen theory based on some of the more fantastical visuals from the trailer.

At one point, Superman battles a giant kaiju in Metropolis, which suggests some sort of climactic showdown between the Man of Steel and your typical superhero movie monster. But what if this particular beast isn't typical at all? Fans on both Twitter/X and Reddit are suggesting that the kaiju in question is actually Jimmy Olsen — and there's certainly precedent for this in the comics.

It's going to be so great when it's revealed the kaiju is actually Jimmy Olsen, who drank a mysterious potion https://t.co/tAt8y4j4dA

— Owen Likes Comics (@owenlikescomics) December 19, 2024

As proof of this, folks are posting a silver age comic book cover featuring a gigantic Jimmy Olsen who was zapped by a growth ray and transformed into a "giant turtle man." That particular issue of "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" was published all the way back in 1961, although the giant turtle man returned in 2023's "Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #3." What's more, this is far from the only time Jimmy Olsen has transformed in DC's comics.

DC

At this point, absolutely nothing is confirmed with regards to Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen transmogrifying into some sort of gigantic beast in "Superman." The trailer mainly features the character in the Daily Planet newsroom and contains no shots that even hint at his actual transformation process. But if the kaiju in the trailer does turn out to be Olsen (after all, that giant monster in the trailer does have the same color eyes as Gisondo), it wouldn't come completely out of nowhere.

Aside from his giant turtle man form, Jimmy has undergone all manner of metamorphosis throughout DC history. 11 issues before the debut of the turtle monster, Olsen became "Jimmy the Genie," announcing on the front cover that he had "become the genie of Aladdin's lamp." Later, Olsen was transformed into a Bizarro version of himself after being hit by Professor Potter's ray in 1964's "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" #80.

Throughout his time in comic books, Olsen has also become a human porcupine, a mind reader, and, in 1960's "Jimmy Olsen" #44, "The Wolf-Man of Metropolis." All of which is to say that the character has a long history of transforming into all manner of bizarre creatures, and while James Gunn says "Superman" is about a singular modern concern, this silver age preoccupation with sci-fi story tropes is surely the kind of thing he would find a way to work into his Superman story.

DC

While it remains far from confirmed that Jimmy Olsen will take on his monster form in "Superman," such a zany idea seems like exactly the kind of thing James Gunn would embrace for the film, which is otherwise populated by the type of lesser-known DC personalities that you might expect from the director. Anthony Carrigan's Metamorpho, Edi Gathegi's Mr Terrific, and several Justice League members showcased in the "Superman" trailer are all comparative deep cuts relative to what we've seen before, and Gunn is clearly bringing at least some of his offbeat sensibility to Supes (just take a look at the haircut on Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner). This all bodes well for a Jimmy Olsen kaiju in the final film, with giant turtle man himself being somewhat of a deep cut from DC history.

Considering Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor is supposed to be the main villain in the film, it could very well be that, in true Gunn fashion, the shots of Superman battling a giant kaiju in the heart of Metropolis have nothing to do with some climactic battle and actually come from a wild Jimmy Olsen introduction. Just think how refreshing it would be to find Supes battling Olsen's giant turtle man when the film opens, only for him to successfully return the young reporter to his original form. That would surely go down as one of the greatest character introductions in comic book movie history, and go a long way towards setting the tone for Gunn's own DC vision.

"Superman" opens in theaters on July 11, 2025.