The Daily Planet - Superman News and Speculation Thread (🚨TAG SPOILERS🚨)

[AverageMan]

God, these next 4 months are going to be torture. lol.

 

[GreenKToo]

God, these next 4 months are going to be torture. lol.

A 100%.
I really wish they'd focus some of the marketing on Lex. We've never had a truly serious Lex on the big screen before, and the public needs to know that this ain't your daddy's Lex.

 

[Sverdlovski]

Wow... so, some people loved it, some people liked it, some people didn't care about it, some people disliked it and some people hated it!

This has never happened before!

 

[emielaen]

Wow... so, some people loved it, some people liked it, some people didn't care about it, some people disliked it and some people hated it!

This has never happened before!

Yeah, but this time it means the film is destined to fail and the DCU is gonna get scrapped before the summer ends. They might as well shut down principal on Lanterns and Supergirl now.

 

[solidsnake86]

Personally, hearing this mixed reaction to the screenings is good news. It's when everything is positive that I get worried that reports are planted to hide the fact that the movie sucks.

I do think Gunn will be able to pull it off and I'm not even that crazy about his other works.

 

[TMP98]

idk, the doom-mongering from the test screening crew means nothing to me since most of these guys just eat up anything with nostalgia bait. Flash and Cap 4 were supposedly good, and we all know how those went. Just feel very very confident in Gunn pulling this off - the footage looked really great and he's said all the right things. Just reminds me a lot of the supposed "bad test screenings" for The Batman

 

[Mysteryman]

A 100%.
I really wish they'd focus some of the marketing on Lex. We've never had a truly serious Lex on the big screen before, and the public needs to know that this ain't your daddy's Lex.

Sure.IF that’s true.
We are not going to definitively know for awhile yet

 

[DorkyFresh]

I still just don’t know if Gunn’s style is the right fit for Superman. TBH, I haven’t really enjoyed any of Gunn’s DC projects so far. Peacemaker was the best of the bunch but a lot of the humor was too sexual or just didn’t hit for me. I enjoyed all of his Marvel work thoroughly though.

It's been such an interesting journey regarding Gunn and Superman. I think most people initially wouldn't think James is fit to direct a Superman movie based on his filmography. His wheelhouse are degenerates and oddballs that persevere through their differences to become a family, which is definitely NOT Superman. Like Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos were perfect for his style and if Doom Patrol weren't already a show I'm sure Gunn would've wanted to bring that to life. I remember thinking "ew, no" when he was first offered Superman back when he first joined WB/DC, and when he first announced that he'd be not only writing, but DIRECTING Superman, I think most fans were indifferent about it.

But ya know, following his movements from his writing up until now he's been saying all the right things and making the right decisions. It's sorta crazy that we finally have a Superman director that actually understands not only the essence of Supes, but also the mythos and stories of the source material. I still have some reservations about his style, especially when it comes to the humor, but he's also expressed that the humor will be a little toned down from his previous films, which I interpret as him holding back from his usual potty humor. I actually see GotG 3 as a sorta test or indication for how he's going to handle Superman. GotG 3 was definitely a much more sincere attempt at dramatic filmmaking than his previous movies and I can tell the humor was not as adolescent as his others. So I'm pretty hopeful that the humor in Superman will be appropriate for the character.

As for his aesthetic style, no concerns at all. That teaser was one of the most beautiful trailers I've seen from a mainstream movie in a loooong time. And having recently rewatched the GotG trilogy, specifically paying attention to the action sequences, I can't wait to see how Gunn is going portray Superman's (and everyone else's) powers!

 

[Adrian Chase]

Here's how reliable these alleged web clowns are:

 

[Filmfreak]

ViewerAnon is way way more reliable than Daniel Richtman. He did however say that word was that Brave New World was ok to pretty good and it turned out to be the worst reviewed MCU movie, so we'll see.

 

[Adrian Chase]

ViewerAnon is way way more reliable than Daniel Richtman. He did however say that word was that Brave New World was ok to pretty good and it turned out to be the worst reviewed MCU movie, so we'll see.

They are both reliable in the same way: zero.

 

[chintai80]

They are both reliable in the same way: zero.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

They are both reliable in the same way: zero.

Patently false. VA is, by a comfortable margin, the most reliable person of his ilk. No one even comes close. Doesn’t mean he’s universally right, he has his own opinions (including generally pretty bad taste in movies) I don’t agree with but he’s been consistently bang on when it comes to test screenings and related stuff for years.

What VA is saying about Superman’s test screenings is almost certainly true. That also isn’t a bad thing and test screenings have been repeatedly proven to not mean a whole lot. I’m not sure why anyone is shocked James Gunn made a broadly silly dramedy.

 

[flickchick85]

For the record, ViewerAnon has proven real sources and I totally believe that he is right in that the tone will be off-putting to some people - we spent over a decade with Supes being treated as a super-serious would-be dictator god in movies and videogames. Even S&L fell on the more serious side of the character's tonal spectrum, though not nearly so extreme. Still, naturally, taking him back to his more light-hearted roots is inevitably gonna get some pushback from a certain audience that vibed with those takes. But I'm all for it. I genuinely think it will get more people onboard than it does push people off. But more importantly for me, it's what I want from the character and what I've been waiting for, for as long as I can remember, so I'm good.

 

[Adrian Chase]

Patently false. VA is, by a comfortable margin, the most reliable person of his ilk. No one even comes close. Doesn’t mean he’s universally right, he has his own opinions (including generally pretty bad taste in movies) I don’t agree with but he’s been consistently bang on when it comes to test screenings and related stuff for years.

I don't even know what he said about Superman because I'm not interested in these "scoopers".
When the film comes out, I'll go to the theater, I'll see it and I'll form my opinion as I always have.

Maybe "scoopers" can even know someone who has been to a screening, but they are made on target audiences not indexed to the film to understand how the general audience reacts.

They have no kind of relevance for us, because regarding these movies we are not the general audience but rather the informed and passionate one.
We will see the same film with different eyes and we will feel it with different passion compared to the samples of people who participate in these tests.

The test screenings of "Eternals" were fantastic so much that Feige believed he could take it to the Oscars, the test screenings of "Cap America: Brave New World" were very good, those of "The Flash" surprising, "Batman v Superman" and we can go on for days...

 

[flickchick85]

Honestly, I enjoy getting screening feedback like this because it just about guarantees it's not a bunch of plants, like some of the Marvel test screening reports and the BvS/The Flash ones were. The hyperbolic ones are generally the reports to be most wary of.

 

[Adrian Chase]

Honestly, I enjoy getting screening feedback like this because it just about guarantees it's not a bunch of plants, like some of the Marvel test screening reports and the BvS/The Flash ones were. The hyperbolic ones are generally the reports to be most wary of.

And that's totally fine, but everyone has to take them cautiously and not as if they were the word of God or "almost certainly true" or, even worse, an index of how we, the fans, will react to the film.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

And that's totally fine, but everyone has to take them cautiously and not as if they were the word of God or "almost certainly true" or, even worse, an index of how we, the fans, will react to the film.

It’s almost certainly true in that, factually, that probably is what an extremely connected and trusted insider heard. Doesn’t mean it will in anyway be what plays out when it’s released to the masses, but it is very very likely the truth of the screenings so far.

It’s just interesting trivia. No one is claiming it’s reflective of the GA reception. No idea where you’re getting it from that anyone is treating it like the word of god beyond a few silly people on Reddit.

 

[STARMAN]

This is all part of the process of waiting for a big movie like this to be released. Reacting to rumors, test screenings, waiting for trailers, holding our breaths for the Rotten Tomato score that we're not supposed to care about. It's part of the fun and the anxiety. Nothing to get that upset about either way.

For the record, I believe ViewerAnon is one of the most accurate "scoopers" when it comes to test screenings. It doesn't mean what he hears will always translate to the reception with critics and the public but he doesn't make stuff up. Now that everyone knows a test screening occurred yesterday you'll likely get a flood of false reports mixed with a couple of legit ones.

There's is a second more significant subplot floating out there as well as the identity of the A-list actor playing Jor-El. So be careful.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Jor-El is officially the only casting we’ve gotten so far apart from Hoult that sparks anything other than total indifference in me. Great get.

 

[Scarlet Spider]

Just found out who Jor-El is!

My pick came true!

Spoiler

If we're sticking with Gunn alumni, Bradley Cooper would be my Jor-El. Maybe Lex was too big of a commitment but he could come in for a few days and crush it.

 

[flickchick85]

Jor-El is officially the only casting we’ve gotten so far apart from Hoult that sparks anything other than total indifference in me. Great get.

Meanwhile, the one that most leaves me going "meh."

It's fine though. It's a name.

 

[DCDAVE]

You see there goes the Superman drama again.VA just said some people click with it and some don’t. Said it wasn’t a terrible reaction though. To me that is very vague.

 

[Sawyer]

So… Jor-El and Lara?

Spoiler

 

[Tra-El]

For the record, ViewerAnon has proven real sources and I totally believe that he is right in that the tone will be off-putting to some people - we spent over a decade with Supes being treated as a super-serious would-be dictator god in movies and videogames. Even S&L fell on the more serious side of the character's tonal spectrum, though not nearly so extreme. Still, naturally, taking him back to his more light-hearted roots is inevitably gonna get some pushback from a certain audience that vibed with those takes. But I'm all for it. I genuinely think it will get more people onboard than it does push people off. But more importantly for me, it's what I want from the character and what I've been waiting for, for as long as I can remember, so I'm good.

Good post. It really is a rinse and repeat buzz word medium that almost none of the politics from the "insiders" or fanbase algorithms will change. The same conversations are basically on repeat throughout the course of a films behind the scenes discourse, and the same motion from fans follow through. It's a deja vu-type medium.


Last night I posted what my source said, but deleted it and edited that post last night when I heard back. I'm always hesitant to post that stuff, but all they said was that WB internally aren't totally unhappy with the screenings, they just don't feel great about them either. I have made friends with a buddy that works with the company over the years. They went radio silent for a good year and a half but dropped me a quick sentence about the screenings last night. "They aren't upset, but not happy either. Tonal issues. All I got".

To me, that means nothing, but it adds a little weight since they have been testing Superman for a few months now with the GA and it seems mixed. How that will translate to the overall GA masses is the fun part. I'm excited for the same reasons you are. Overall, I don't think Gunn will make a bad Superman film. He will hit those notes.