Superman Reportedly Gets These Last-Minute Changes After Test Screenings (& They May Be For the Better)

It’s coming down to the final stretch until the release of James Gunn’s Superman movie, which will also be the official kickoff of the new DC Universe franchise. Production has been airtight at DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures, with very few leaks… at least until now. As Superman moves out of the edit bay and starts to be shown to audiences, reports about the feedback to the film are starting to trickle out. One new report claims that some initial test screenings didn’t go as smoothly as Gunn and Warner Bros. Discovery (and CEO David Zaslav) hoped, which prompted a series of changes in the form of reshoots and other creative tweaks. The only question is: where those changes for the better?

World of Reel has reports from “sources close to the production” of Superman who have conveyed that “tensions are high at Warner Bros.” as the release approaches. An early test screening allegedly “received a mixed reception,” which prompted a “cascade of changes” to be made to the film. And that’s where things get interesting…

Superman Allegedly Had to Cut Down Its Humor

The report goes on to say that the original cut of Superman was much more in line with Gunn’s previous superhero films (Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, DC’s The Suicide Squad) in terms of humor. However, WB executives were not “entirely sold” on Superman‘s level of humor, and had Gunn lessen that tone, including cutting numerous comedic scenes and “beats.” That seems to be part of an overall trimming of the film to reduce the runtime – a subject that has already stirred a flurry of rumors and a response from Gunn himself. According to the latest rumors, Superman has been trimmed down by a total of about 25 minutes.

The report gets even more intense, claiming that one of Superman’s editors was removed from working on the film “mid-process” and that the film has since been restructured. That meant an entirely new way in “how the story was being presented” to the audience, with some key scenes being moved around, while new scenes had to be added to bring the new version of the film together. Finally, a second composer was reportedly brought in to help the sonic score of the film better match the new tone.

RELATED: How Henry Cavill’s Superman Can Finally Bring the DCU & DCEU Together

Is the DCU Already In Trouble?

At the time of writing this, Superman is allegedly set to get its next big test screening. It’s being said that Warner Bros. executives are “a tad” more confident in the current cut of the film Gunn has turned in, and reaction rumors will almost certainly make their way to the internet afterward.

There will be a lot of fans who hear these rumors and won’t wait an any substantiation to start freaking out. Whether it’s Zack Snyder fans who will love hearing that Gunn’s trademark humor is being restrained; Gunn fans who will be upset that the same formula they loved in Guardians and Suicide Squad, won’t be intact with Superman, or DC movie fans who get triggered that WB execs are once again meddling with directorial vision (see also: Snyder’s Batman v Superman). More than anything else, it may be the worst look for the new DCU brand that this is all sounding too familiar with how the DCEU brand ultimately unraveled. Superman wasn’t just supposed to be a blockbuster hit film, it was supposed to be a sign of DC Studios moving forward with a new kind of confidence and assuredness that fans (and executives) could bank on. As the release date approaches, we’re clearly not there yet.

Superman has a release date of July 11th.