James Gunn’s Superman originally had a scene in which Ultraman punched Krypto the dog (yes, really), and while it got cut due to poor test screening reactions, another divisive scene remains.
It’s mere days away until the OG Supe gets his moment, with David Corenswet (Superman), Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), and Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor) ushering in a new era under Gunn’s revamped DCU.
But one unlikely star is expected to steal the show. Enter Krypto, Superman’s loyal canine companion, inspired by Gunn’s own dog, Ozu. Before we get into it, let’s first point out that Krypto is, for the most part, CGI – so no animals were hurt during the production of the film.
The same can’t be said for the audience at an early Superman test screening, who were left upset at having to see the Superdog get punched by the DC supervillain.
Superman star reveals cut Krypto scene and its divisive replacement
Although the offending scene was cut, there is a moment in Superman where María Gabriela de Faría’s Angela Spica, aka The Engineer, is mean to Krypto – and it left the audience audibly shocked.
Extratv’s Jake Hamilton highlighted the scene in a new interview, saying, “We were at the screening last night and, you know, a lot of us, we’re jaded journalists. We watch movies every single day and we see things that are terrible on the screen and we sit there in silence.
“There’s a scene where you’re not the kindest to Krypto and out loud I heard someone go, ‘Oh, hell no.’”
Eve Teschmacher star Sara Sampaio interjected to point out that an even worse scene was cut. “They cut Ultraman punching Krypto because apparently it did really bad in the test screening,” she said.
Faría added, “It’s not okay, you can’t punch a dog… I did not punch the dog. The dog attacked me first… I did not kill him or anything, I just made sure that he was wrapped in a little bubble.”
So yes, Superman does not include dogs – real or CGI – being punched in any way, shape, or form.
Earlier in the interview, Faría revealed that the scenes with Krypto were tricky, as the doggo had a rather apt stand in: a tennis ball.
“Krypto had a stand in. It was Jolene the dog, and she was there for lighting and stuff. But then I had to fight a tennis ball, you know, and be really scared of the tennis ball,” she continued.
“And I would have to turn around and look at the tennis ball. And James would yell at me, ‘You’re really scared. He’s going to kill you.’ And I would be like, ‘Ah,’ making these really big facial expressions and really praying that it reads okay.”
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