It’s again claimed that, as a result of test screenings, James Gunn’s Superman has undergone a course correction to make it less goofy.
Concerns about the film first surfaced back in December, when Jeff Sneider, THR, and others hinted at early trouble behind the scenes.
It’s probably safe to say that Gunn was making his Superman movie similar to what he did with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy films. I believe I’ve said it before, while the goofiness can work with Guardians because the normies weren’t familiar (we were and hated “dance off, bro” Star-Lord), the normies sure are familiar with the Man of Steel. DC fans are also different than the MCU fans. They’re more used to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight and Zack Snyder’s DCEU.
To add to that, it’s been claimed that Gunn has put in jokes meant as political jabs in Superman, which includes that bit about Lex’s mutant troll monkey army, the plot about fake news, as well as putting in jokes making fun of the Snyder Cut.
Major Changes for Superman After Test Screenings: Humor Cut, Editor Replaced, Scenes Reshot
A new World of Reel report claims a recent test screening led to major changes, including cutting down on humor and reworking scenes.
The site claims Gunn, DCU co-head and producer Peter Safran, and WBD CEO David Zaslav have been “scrutinizing every frame” of Superman “to avoid another franchise misfire.”
Every DC movie since 2018’s Aquaman has bombed at the box office, including The Flash, which Gunn hyped as the best comic book movie ever. Zaslav even screened it for Tom Cruise, who praised it. In their defense, sources told me the original Flash cut was far better than what ended up in theaters.
Back to Superman, with the film under heavy scrutiny, World of Reel says they removed about 25 minutes of the (assumed) goofier footage, shuffled around key sequences, and added minor scenes during the reshoots.
That’s not all, as it’s said an editor was removed, which led to a rework of the film’s structure. Also, a new composer was brought in late to help with the music score (that guitar riff of the Williams score in the first teaser is horrible).
An insider for the site described it as a “slight course correction.”
It’s added that another test screening is scheduled this week, so they’re hoping the recent changes make everything better. It’s added that they have more confidence now in the Superman film, which, as previously reported, needs to be a big hit.
I also think the changes are evident in the recently released full trailer, which is really good and much better than that first teaser.
Reported changes to Superman:
- Roughly 25 minutes of footage removed
- Comedic scenes cut or toned down
- Key sequences restructured
- New editor and composer brought in
- Another test screening scheduled this week
Superman release info
Superman gets released on July 11, 2025.
David Corenswet stars as Superman/Clark Kent, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. The cast also includes Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Neva Howell.
