Creative chaos: gunn and safran wrestle with supergirl’s fate before release
Months before its disastrous debut, James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios battled internal conflict over the direction of Supergirl, resulting in competing cuts of the film – one from director Craig Gillespie and another from the studio itself – according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A messy rewrite: test scores reveal deep creative disagreement
Behind the scenes, the project experienced significant friction, with early test screenings yielding scores hovering stubbornly below 70 out of 100, highlighting a fundamental lack of creative alignment between Gunn and Gillespie. Sources revealed a dissonance described not as mere disagreement, but as a genuine ‘not creatively aligned’ situation, a blunt assessment of the struggle for control over the film’s narrative.
Studio intervention and multiple cuts
Just weeks after a disappointing initial screening in December 2025, Gunn and Safran’s team stepped in, commissioning their own version of the film, leveraging techniques from Mortal Kombat 2 and Moon Knight writer Jeremy Slater. Over a grueling period – encompassing four test screenings throughout December 2025, February 2026, and March 2026 – the studio demanded two distinct cuts: Gillespie’s, reportedly 11 minutes longer and emphasizing the antagonist, Matthias Schoenaerts’ Krem, and the studio’s own iteration. The simultaneous presentation of these competing visions ultimately led to the studio’s version taking precedence, debuting in theaters late June.
A two-point victory
Despite the studio’s final victory – a mere two-point difference – the outcome underscored the depth of the creative challenges. One anonymous filmmaker, uninvolved with the project, noted that such a protracted test process signaled a studio’s serious investment in refining the material. “It happens more than you think, but it’s not normal,” the filmmaker stated. “If a studio is going to put money into the test process, it means they feel strongly about certain things.”
Music’s mishap – and a subsequent shift
Adding to the complications, the film’s soundtrack – notably the inclusion of Jimmy Eat World’s ‘The Middle’ – generated considerable controversy. Sources confirm that Gunn initially championed the song’s inclusion, only to have it swapped out for Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ during a subsequent screening. This highlights the delicate balance between artistic vision and studio consensus, a struggle that ultimately impacted the film’s overall reception.
A bleak outlook for the hero
With just a week of theatrical release under its belt, and speculation mounting about a potential $100 million loss, Supergirl’s future appears increasingly uncertain. The film’s opening weekend performance has raised serious questions about DC Studios’ strategic direction. IGN’s 6/10 review succinctly captured the film’s shortcomings: “Supergirl borrows from the best, but Milly Alcock’s great take on Kara Zor-El gets lost in the spare parts from other movies used to assemble her story.”
The bottom line: a costly lesson learned
Ultimately, Supergirl serves as a stark reminder of the inherent risks involved in large-scale superhero projects, where creative differences can derail even the most ambitious endeavors. The studio’s costly attempts to salvage the film underscore the importance of cohesive vision and collaborative leadership – lessons, perhaps, that DC Studios will carry forward as it charts its course through the new DC Universe.