Is Superman "terrible," "tremendously good," or something in between? The first rumored test screening reactions have arrived.
After Warner Bros. suffered five flops in a row with the DCEU's final movies, plenty is riding on Superman to kickstart James Gunn's blue brand reboot in style.
Superman Test Screening Rumors Point to Mixed Reactions
As Superman edges closer to flying into theaters and test screenings are held, several insiders have shared rumors of what they are hearing from the first audiences to experience the DCU flick in its incomplete form.
First up came Jeff Sneider, who spoke on The Hot Mic podcast and rolled back previous comments where he said Superman was "improving." Instead, the insider declared how his "best source" has heard the movie is "terrible:"
"I put out that newsletter the other night where I mention that I heard good things about 'Superman' that the internals said it was improving. But I got a call from my best source after that newsletter, he said, 'Great newsletter tonight, but you got one thing wrong. And that's about 'Superman' which I continue to hear is terrible.'"
Speaking on The John Campea Show, the titular YouTuber was asked whether fans should believe Sneider's comments calling Superman "terrible." While he was clear in his trust for Sneider's reliability, he noted he has heard the "exact opposite," being that the movie is "tremendously good:"
"I think you should believe that's what we heard. I will come out and say the exact opposite, I've heard it's tremendously good. I won't say who I heard that from. But I'm not a scooper, so take that for what you will. I've heard it's actually very good."
Neither Sneider nor Campea noted any specific criticisms and praises being directed toward Superman from test screenings, but there was recently a worrying about that the movie may contain "a lot of humor."
That said, Campea voiced his view that fans should "disregard" any rumors from test screenings until the movie is finished, noting that one can never know the reliability of these scoops are people will often "hear what they wanna hear:"
"But I would disregard what I just said and I would also disregard anything else about test screenings and 'I'm hearing from this person' and 'I'm hearing from that person' because you never know who that person is hearing it from. So look, at the end of the day when it comes to test screening rumors, people are gonna hear what they wanna hear."
During a recent press conference, The Nerds of Color spoke with James Gunn, who confirmed they have "done real [test] screenings" of Superman, explaining they are "definitely editing and making little changes" based on feedback:
"We’ve done screenings. We’ve done real screenings. Definitely learning stuff all the time, definitely editing and making little changes. You know, we might shoot a couple little, tiny things."
Having confirmed they may do some "little, tiny" reshoots, Gunn noted how he "used to be kind of against" going back to the filming process, but he has grown to see the benefits, even if they "wouldn't be anything major:"
"All my additional photography is so hard because it’s like, I used to be kind of against it. Because, you know, you don’t want to have to shoot again. It’s a pain in the ass. But as time has gone on, and I’ve made more movies, I really like being able to say, ‘You know what? I wish I had a shot that fist hitting that…’ And so I do tend to go back and pick that kind of stuff up. So it wouldn’t be anything major, but those kinds of things, yeah, I’ll cover you a couple more things like that."
Why Fans Shouldn't Worry About Superman's Mixed Test Screening Rumors
John Campea's advice that fans should "disregard" rumored test screenings may be something to listen to. Not only is Superman being screened in an incomplete state, but reported early reactions often haven't reflected the final result.
For one, Variety once reported The Flash had been "extraordinarily well-received" at test screenings in July 2022. However, when the DCEU blockbuster came to theaters, it did so with a fairly poor "B" CinemaScore from audiences and was generally not well-liked by the rest of the fandom.
Similarly, scoopers once heard Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was "fun as hell" and Corey Stoll's MODOK "steals the show." But when the MCU's Kang-centric Quantum Realm adventure arrived, the movie was widely panned and MODOK was quickly labeled among the franchise's worst villains.
James Gunn has a strong track record in the superhero game with big wins in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and The Suicide Squad. As such, there is plenty to support that he deserves some trust to deliver a Superman spectacle.
The first genuine reviews for major blockbusters usually arrive when critic screenings begin and embargoes lift just a few weeks before release. So, fans shouldn't expect to get an accurate impressive of the good, the bad, and the ugly of Superman until late June or early July.
Superman hits theaters on July 11.
