Superman writer/director James Gunn is known for his tongue-in-cheek and raunchy humor as a filmmaker — just look at the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and his take on DC’s The Suicide Squad. Though both those famous (or should we say infamous) comic book teams are known as rebels of their respective universes, Superman is not only one of DC’s leading superheroes, but also its most wholesome, which is why we weren’t surprised to learn of another NSFW joke cut from the new film. Although the joke wasn’t delivered by “Big Blue” himself, given Superman‘s PG-13 rating and large family appeal, we understand why it ended up on the cutting room floor.
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According to X user @ViewerAnon, the cut joke took place during Superman’s (David Corenswet) takedown of the kaiju that Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) unleashed on Metropolis to distract the hero as he broke into the Fortress of Solitude. The action-focused set piece also serves as the film’s formal introduction to the Justice Gang: the Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabella Merced), and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi). The trio of corporate-sponsored heroes aid Superman in defeating the kaiju, though Superman didn’t want to kill the monster to stop it.
It’s during the aftermath of the fight that the following foul-mouthed exchange between Guy and Superman occurred, which Gunn ultimately cut:
While the back-and-forth certainly gave us a chuckle, we understand why Gunn made the decision to nix the dialogue, and it all has to do with “kids around” both on screen and off. Fillion and Corenswet both do an excellent job of revealing to us who their respective characters are, one a cocky womanizer, the other an earnest defender of justice, in different scenes and repartees in the film. Guy’s jab at Superman here, while they receive adoration from children, pushes him a little too far past the line of “lovable scoundrel.” The moment still plays perfectly without the blue language in the film, thanks to both actors’ performances, with Corenswet nailing Superman’s guilelessness, and Fillion’s dismissal and facial expressions tell us everything we need to know about how Guy feels about Superman’s lofty ideals.
Gunn doesn’t shy away from racier jokes in other sections of the film. Guy shouting after Lois’s criticism of his haircut at the Hall of Justice that “384 women would say you’re wrong!” does a great job of toeing the line of appropriateness while also referencing the hero’s body count. Yet in the case of that joke, it’s more likely that it could fly over the heads of Superman‘s many younger viewers since it doesn’t use any explicit language outright.
Ultimately, it seems like Gunn made the right call. Even without the joke, Superman is still full of Gunn’s irreverent humor, and its characters are as vibrant and sharp as the Metropolis the director built around them.
Superman is now playing in theaters.
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