Zack Snyder's vision for the DC universe kicked off with a reboot of Superman in Man of Steel. However, another key figure in that movie was David S. Goyer, the writer of the film as well as a writer on Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. But even with this pedigree in superhero movies, Goyer was unable to escape the occasional baffling studio note.
When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Goyer was asked about his experience receiving feedback from the studio and shared a particularly bad note he received on Man of Steel. One executive took issue with the climax of the movie when Superman uses the pod he first arrived on Earth in to destroy Zod's ship.
When told he would have to change it, Goyer questioned why and the executive responded, "Because if Superman uses that pod and it's destroyed while saving the city, how is he ever going to get back home to Krypton?" Goyer then had to remind the executive that Krypton blew up at the beginning of Man of Steel, which seems like something the executive should have remembered. Despite that awkwardness, Goyer talks at length in the same interview about working with Nolan on his Batman movies and how their collaboration eventually led to Goyer coming up with the idea for Man of Steel. He also addresses the rumors that Man of Steel was meant to be folded into the Dark Knight universe, which apparently Nolan was not interested in.
The studio executives are often painted as the bad guys who are all about business and stifle the vision of the creative filmmakers. That is, of course, a pretty unfair way to lump them all in together. In fact, studio executives like Kevin Feige have proven they give tremendous creative freedom with the projects they oversee. However, it is hilarious that someone working for a studio that is producing a Superman movie would make a suggestion like this.
Firstly, the destruction of Krypton is one of the defining aspects of the character of Superman and even casual fans are well aware of this origin story. And secondly, Man of Steel goes into much greater detail about this event than any other Superman movie, spending the first 30 minutes of the movie showing how the planet ended.
For an executive to miss all that or ignore it just so they can offer this unhelpful note is pretty embarrassing. Needless to say, Goyer is not the only filmmaker to deal with such notes, and perhaps this was an early sign that Warner Bros. didn't quite know what to do with their Superman movies.
Man of Steel is now available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter