The negative buzz surrounding James Gunn’s Superman reboot keeps growing, this time from Variety, who took a swipe at the film in an unrelated review.
So far that’s two strikes against Gunn’s new Man of Steel.
Update: The first reactions have hit, and they’re mixed.
Update #2: The first batch of reviews has hit Rotten Tomatoes, and the score is sky high.
What does Variety say about Superman?
In their new review for Amazon’s Heads of State, an action-comedy starring John Cena (who also stars as Gunn’s DCU Peacemaker) and Idris Elba, Variety compares the movie’s goofy approach to Superman and even says Heads of State is a better movie:
“You could be forgiven for writing off ‘Heads of State.’ But then, you would miss a movie that’s no sillier than ‘Superman’ and a lot more entertaining (a comparison worth making, since both adhere to a mythical sense of heroism).”
Update: Yes, Variety edited their article to remove the Superman reference, likely at the request of Warner Bros. PR. The original is saved on archive.org. Here are the screenshots showing the original versus the edit:
Update #2: A Bluesky critic has broken embargo and fired back against the criticisms.
Original article continues:
The jab comes after Gunn’s Superman faced harsh criticism from The Daily Beast, who called the DCU reboot “terrible” and the “final nail in the grave for the superhero genre.”
More Trouble for Gunn’s Superman
So far, Gunn and Warner Bros. haven’t responded to the backlash, but early reactions online continue to be mixed. An insider has offered fans will either love it or hate it.
What’s clear is that Superman is already being used as the punchline in Hollywood’s latest reviews, and that’s before the movie even hits theaters.
Release info
James Gunn’s Superman flies into theaters on July 11 and gets released July 9 in various international locations.
Starring includes David Corenswet as Superman and Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.
Also starring 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.
