The runtime for James Gunn’s Superman has been revealed, and you know what? It’ll be shorter than the last three of the Kryptonian’s movies, so that must count for something. International distributors (via DCFilmNews) have revealed that the film will run for 122 minutes, or 2 hours and 2 minutes.
This makes Superman, starring David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, the second-shortest Superman movie ever, after Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which ran for just 90 minutes.
The last three movies ran for much longer. Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel went for 143 minutes, while his Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice came in at 152 minutes. Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns ran for a whopping 154 minutes.
Gunn tested a 140 minute version of Superman back in March. World of Reel‘s sources say the production hasn’t been smooth, with negative test screenings leading to a series of changes in tone, music, and runtime. The earlier version was said to lean heavier into humor, a Gunn staple, but it was toned down to have a more serious edge because that’s what execs wanted.
That doesn’t sound good. You never want to hear that higher-ups are having a creative impact over the director. It’s a sure pathway to disaster, and sounds like the suits at Warner Bros. have learned zero lessons from the failure of the Snyderverse.
We’ll see. All of these reports will mean nothing if Superman is a hit when it arrives in July, but I’m not sold that it will be.
