James Gunn reveals the word that caused huge arguments on ‘Superman’ set
Filmmaker James Gunn revealed the most significant battle he faced on the set of Superman, which led to countless “heated debates”.
Speaking on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn discussed several editorial battles he had with his team when making the latest superhero blockbuster.
During a key moment in the script, it was widely debated whether Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner would end up telling David Corenswet’s Superman, “don’t be such a pussy”. In the final cut, they used the word “wuss” instead.
With a smile, Gunn referenced this moment in the interview, revealing, “Guy Gardner didn’t call him a wuss in the first cut. He called him something else.” When Horowitz interjected to ask if this were “the P word,” Gunn confirmed, meaning “pussy.”
Gunn continued, “It got an enormous laugh. After, Clark goes, and this is what was cut, ‘Hey, there are kids here!’ And then Guy goes, ‘I said don’t be,’ and then he walks away.”
Another debate has raged outside of the film; James Gunn recently gave an interview to The Times, saying, “Superman is the story of America. An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
In response, actor Dean Cain, who played Superman in the 1993-1997 TV show Lois & Clarke: The New Adventures of Superman, branded the new movie too “woke”.
He added, “For me, Superman has always stood for truth, justice and the American way. And the American way is immigrant-friendly — tremendously immigrant-friendly, but there are rules.”
The film opened with the highest-grossing weekend in the franchise’s entire history. Released on July 11th, it grossed a total of $217million in the first weekend, including $122m in American sales and $95m in international markets. This makes it one of the most successful Superman blockbusters and one of the best efforts from DC Studios in recent memory.
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