James Gunn Reveals Superman Scene Cut for Being Too Dark and Violent

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Be advised: This piece reveals secrets about Superman. In director James Gunn‘s adaptation, Superman (David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Kal-El) finds himself in handcuffs when Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), his green-eyed rival, exposes a message from Superman’s biological parents, Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara Lor-Van (Angela Sarafyan). Desperate to locate his canine companion Krypto who has been abducted, Superman voluntarily surrenders himself to the authorities. They then entrust his detention and questioning to PlanetWatch – a branch of LuthorCorp that specializes in guarding the planet against extraterrestrial threats such as alien beings like Superman.

Luthor’s special agents, a woman named María Gabriela de Faría (who has nanites inside her) and a masked character played by Corenswet (in a double role), apprehend Superman along with General Rick Flag Sr., who then delivers Superman to Luthor. Later, Superman is confined in a separate universe that Luthor can reach through portals he’s established worldwide.

It becomes clear that Luthor has been conspiring with President Vasil Ghurkos of Boravia, and it’s exposed that they orchestrated the war between Boravia and Jarhanpur as a pretense to eliminate Superman. During this conflict, President Ghurkos observes as Luthor interrogates Superman, who is rendered helpless by kryptonite. Earlier in the film, Malik Ali, a falafel vendor from Metropolis, assists Superman during a kaiju attack (incidentally caused by Luthor). Tragically, Luthor uses this opportunity to have Ali killed.

It’s interesting to note that the initial portrayal was significantly darker. In a conversation on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn shared insights about how he softened the impact of Malik’s death aftermath. This means that instead of the intense, anguished wailing of Superman we see now, there was originally a more somber and distressing scene where Superman mourns deeply after witnessing Luthor fatally shooting the innocent civilian in the head.

Gunn stated that there’s a very disturbing scene within it. After watching the movie, he felt it was overly grim. In the film, Lex shoots someone in the head, which was typically filmed in an expansive shot to minimize graphic content. However, when the man fell to the ground, blood gushed out onto the platform, and Lex noticed that the blood was about to stain his shoes.

At that moment, Luthor instructed Ghurkos to lie down on the ground to prevent Malik’s blood from staining his shoes. “Ghurkos protests with a dismayed exclamation, ‘What? No!’ but Nic gives him a piercing gaze, and his response is particularly effective as he repeats, ‘No?’ Ghurkos, looking embarrassed and saddened, reluctantly complies and lies down on his back.

As a die-hard cinema enthusiast, I can’t help but rave about Burić’s performance! He plays this hilarious part where he lies flat on his back, soaking up the blood. Then, with a casual glance towards Superman, he quips, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Now, this scene was indeed captured, but it didn’t make it past the initial edits. In fact, I don’t believe it ever even graced the screens during test screenings.

Prior to the movie’s premiere, Gunn disclosed that Drew Goddard, who penned “Marvel’s Daredevil” and films like “The Martian,” “The Cabin in the Woods,” and “Project Hail Mary,” suggested he cut a particular scene from the film.

According to Gunn, Drew Goddard was extremely helpful during their collaboration. They disagreed on a few minor aspects in the movie, mainly concerning the level of darkness or lightness. While discussing one of these points, Goddard said, “You know what? This film isn’t about that dark ending.

As a true cinephile, I found myself nodding in agreement, “Yes, he’s correct. This isn’t the movie he’s referring to. It’s not that film.” That particular statement resonated deeply throughout the editing process, lingering with me until the final cut.

DC Studios’ Superman is now playing only in theaters.

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2025-07-22 01:10