Supermanis soaring past the competition in theaters, landing some of the best numbers at the box office of the year so far. It’s a critical darling as well, boasting a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an even moreimpressive audience score. For all intents and purposes, the film appears to be the perfect start to the rebooted DC Universe, but not everyone loved what it had to offer, especially when it came to a major change from the DC canon.
During an interview with Rolling Stone,Supermandirector James Gunn was asked about fans who hoped that the evil Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara Lor-Van (Angela Sarafyan) twist would be retconned at some point. In the film, it is revealed that Kal-El’s Kryptonian parents sent him to conquer Earth by any means necessary. This was a shock not only to the audience, but to Superman himself. The twist to the origin story has proved controversial to some, but Gunn hilariously told Rolling Stone that they are “sh** out of luck.” The change is here to stay, and Gunn has defended the decision as an important inflection point in Superman’s character arc.
RS: “The problem is, fundamentally, that would undo the entire emotional arc of the movie, right?”
JG: “That’s right. That’s the whole point of the movie, that Superman thinks he is doing something because it is his destiny and his Kryptonian parents have set him out to do this thing, and along the way he discovers through the love of the people who are actually his parents that he’s doing these things not because of someone else, but because of himself. It’s like taking accountability in the deepest way possible that his morality is not based on some figure outside of himself, but on his own choices. I think it’s really beautiful in that way, and I’m not gonna change that.”
Latest ‘Superman’ Box Office Numbers Surely Confirm the Future of James Gunn’s DCU
The fate of the DCU is riding on the shoulders of James Gunn’s Man of Steel.
Some DC fans have beenupset by the change, especially since Kal-El’s parents are usually depicted in the opposite manner on the big screen. However, there is some precedent in the comics, as John Byrne’sMan of Steelrun from the ’80s played with the idea of a Krypton with questionable values. And just like in that source material, Gunn doesn’t see Jor-El or Lara as “being totally evil,” but concludes that the Kryptonians simply view humans as a lesser species. Still pretty evil if you ask us, though. His quote:
“And I don’t really even think of Jor-El and Lara as being totally evil. They just have this mindset that humans are less than whattheyare. We’re sea turtles to them. They’re just trying to keep the Kryptonian genes alive.”
Supermanwent through various adjustments throughout the post-production process, as most blockbuster superhero movies do. It all started with some"really rough"test screenings that included scenes unpopular with theater audiences. The end result has proven all of that work fruitful, but one still wonders what exactly was left on the cutting room floor. Well, it appears that Krypto was an even worse boy in the previous cuts, slaying down some fantastical creatures straight out of a children’s book.
Duringa recent interview, the on-set visual effects lead onSuperman, Matthew “Matty” Eberle, revealed the snowy opening of the film nearly included another demonstration of Krypto’s messy (and violent) tendencies. When Krypto dragged Superman across the snowy terrain, there was a scene that revealed the dog had killed several “abominable snowmen.” It appears this would have been played for laughs, but maybe it was a bit too violent for test audiences. You be the judge:
“Several… originally… when Krypto is dragging Superman, they pass by several dead abominable snowmen… Superman says ‘Krypto, you have to stop killing abominable snowmen’… Hit the cutting room floor. I was there 😊”
