James Gunn has officially cut a shot from Superman because of online backlash

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Superman director James Gunn spoke about a shot that won’t be a part of his film. He was referring to a wide-angle shot of David Corenswet as Superman flying in the sky — focused on his face. This shot was reportedly part of a TV commercial, and upon its release, DC fans criticized it for not matching the tone of the film. Here’s a still from that shot.

Some people on social media started saying it was a CG superimposed shot, while others wondered whether the Superman team had used generative AI to achieve that effect. Regardless, these fans were not happy with the result and thought the shot was visibly inconsistent with the rest of the clip. As a result, it received online backlash.

When brought up during the interview, Gunn shared his opinion on the shot and why it hasn’t made the film’s final cut. He also acknowledged that it was not fully developed at the time. Here’s what he said:

"It was a TV commercial and it wasn't a finished visual effects shot. So the part of him flying — it was a photograph of his face and him flying. It was a photograph of a drone flying in front of an actual background. So all the pieces were real, but it was incorporated in kind of a funky way."

The Superman director admitted he didn’t appreciate how it turned out and would have removed it if he had looked more closely before it aired.

"I didn't love the shot, so it's not even the shot that's in the movie. Sometimes I'm pretty strict about when I'm going through a trailer and looking at each of the shots, but sometimes the commercials, I forget to look at this closely. So that one kind of got by me."

So while online backlash was relevant, it wasn’t the only reason for removing the shot. Gunn’s own dissatisfaction was a significant factor. In fact, he admitted the shot had slipped through without proper review. Even without the criticism, he likely would have cut it based on his own creative standards.

Superman director James Gunn speaks about his relationship with social media and interactions with fans

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Since becoming DC’s co-CEO, Gunn has taken on several creative responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten his fans. He still makes time for people on social media, answering their queries and, at times, shutting down rumors or false updates about the studio’s projects. So, during the interview with EW, he spoke about having this direct line of communication with his fans. He said:

"I think that just happened naturally. In fact, I'm much, much less active than I ever have been on social media, just mostly because I'm busy, but also because it is just too much. I've been on social media really since MySpace took off and have had a lot of interaction with fans online since that time."

Gunn maintains open communication with fans, often engaging directly online — and there’s a reason for it.

"I've always wanted to give that same thing back in terms of realizing these people who are buying tickets to my movies and making fan art and all these things are just people — and to treat them with the respect that human beings deserve and creating that type of mutual respect with fans that they deserve," Gunn said.