Never mind the casting of a brand new Superman, the decision to put him back in pants or tiresome complaints of the movie being “woke”, it’s a scene within the film itself that appears to have sparked the most contention since its release.
The new superhero blockbuster starring David Corenswet arrived earlier this month and marks the launch of a brand new era in the DC cinematic universe (DCU) from former Marvel director James Gunn.
After a strong opening weekend (though some less favourable critics’ reviews), the hype for the fresh instalment in the iconic superhero franchise is still going strong.
But there was one important moment in the film that nearly didn’t make the final cut, despite pretty much everyone’s insistence that it should go.
Speaking in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the Guardians Of The Galaxy director revealed that the scene in which the Man Of Steel pauses to save a squirrel from a destructive monster proved to be one of the most divisive details in the whole movie.
“It was probably the second- or third-most hotly debated moment in the movie,” he explained, adding that they received strong test audience feedback from viewers who “did not like the squirrel”.
“They’re like, ‘Why the fuck is he saving a squirrel? Why is he taking time out, saving a squirrel?’ There was a cut where I cut it out and I’m like, ‘I really miss the squirrel. He’s gotta save the squirrel’,” he added.
The director added that there were some “geographical” problems regarding where Superman ended up if he didn’t fly over the squirrel.
“So I put the squirrel back in despite the protestations of some of my people on my crew,” he added.
Of course, it’s not just a silly throwaway moment – it shows Superman’s empathy and kindness to another living creature.
In a separate interview with The New York Times, James explained how he believed the debate came down to “do you like squirrels or not?”.
Meanwhile, another key detail caused huge debate even earlier in the filming process, as the filmmaker agonised over whether to have Superman in his iconic red pants again.
According to an interview with Gizmodo last year, the Slither director said he “screened tested with trunks and no trunks”, before they ultimately decided on bringing Superman back to his retro look.
