James Gunn Took Over ‘Supergirl’ Post-Production After “Creative Differences” With Craig Gillespie, Competing Cuts Tested

I guess this is a Friday afternoon for exposés.

Here’s a bombshell THR report about “Supergirl,” which, as I had previously mentioned in this column, went through so many test screenings with various different cuts shown. Yet, as THR reports, the scores actually kept going down as the edit progressed.

More surprisingly, according to THR, DC Studios actually held a “bakeoff,” testing competing cuts, one from filmmaker Craig Gillespie, and the other from James Gunn. So much for Gunn’s assertion that he does not creatively interfere in other DCU filmmakers’ projects.

It seems as though the fate of “Supergirl” may have been seeded early on. Gunn and Gillespie reportedly had creative differences over the direction of the film, and tensions persisted right up until its release, numerous sources told THR.

“‘They were not creatively aligned’ is the polite way of describing things,” said one insider.

Just to put all this into perspective: “Supergirl” wrapped production in May 2025, and as early as the fall of that year, Gunn and Gillespie were questioning the quality. After a December test screening, Gunn decided to interfere and “took charge of the post-production to make his own cut.” Gunn also hired a new writer, Jeremy Slater, to help with nine days’ worth of reshoots. A new editor was hired, and production cycled through three different composers.

One source says Gillespie’s version was 11 minutes longer and featured much more of the villain, Krem, played by Matthias Schoenaerts. However, the studio ultimately chose Gunn’s cut for the theatrical release, which included a Gunn-selected needle drop during the film’s climactic action scene.

There’s much written here by THR that I already reported, but the overall picture remains: “Supergirl” had multiple red flags attached to it months before release. The writing was on the wall, and based on this latest report, Gunn doesn’t come out looking as filmmaker-friendly as he promised.