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If we're lucky enough, we'll have the chance to meet at least one animal in this life that we can call our best friend. And if you've paid attention to director James Gunn's work over the years, you might notice that the filmmaker has an immense love for animals. I get emotional every time I even think about that shot from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 where the animals run free from their cages in the High Evolutionary's lair (hell, I get emotional from even thinking about most of that movie). 

Gunn's upcoming Superman film (out next week) prominently features Krypto, Krypton's bestest boy. In an interview with Collider, Gunn spoke about how his love for animals came from his childhood dog, Shawnee. 

"Listen, I love animals. I love animals more than I love movies, so being able to create animal characters that people fall in love with and then hopefully kind of see their own animals. I mean, Krypto's a bad dog. He's a terrible dog, and a lot of people have pretty naughty dogs. So, I think maybe that brings people a little bit closer with their pets. But I was raised, before I had brothers and sisters, I had a sister who was a dog. She was my best friend. Her name was Shawnee, and we were best friends until we were both 14. I feel like I'm partially imprinted on animals. I understand them in some ways more than I understand humans," Gunn said. 

It's only natural that David Corenswet's Superman would also have a lot of love for Krypto. A clip from the film unveiled on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week showed Superman busting into Lex Luthor's office, demanding to know what the bald supervillain did with Krypto. Seeing Superman raise his voice definitely provokes an "all hands on deck" response, because the Man of Steel doesn't get rattled easily. But considering that it's Krypto who's gone missing, who among us wouldn't also yell at a smug Lex Luthor? James Gunn just gets animal lovers. 

James Gunn's Superman movie is out now - and we have a lot to say about it. You can also read about Superman's S-Shield through the ages, how Superman and Clark Kent keep their secret identity secret, our recs for best Superman comics, and how to watch all his TV series and movies in order.