David Corenswet’s Superman test screenings earned comparisons to Chris Pratt’s MCU debut, signaling James Gunn’s DCU is on the right track.

Despite initial skepticism surrounding David Corenswet’s casting as Superman, after he replaced Henry Cavill, people seemingly embraced his version, once plot details were revealed and the trailer was launched. But now, following the recent test screening reports, there seems to be even more love for James Gunn, for his accurate casting.

A still from the Superman trailer | image: Warner Bros.

Although Jeff Sneider and John Rocha had hinted at negative responses from people who watched the test screening for Superman, sources revealed that fans had actually expressed a much more positive response than expected. So much so that a few of them even compared James Gunn’s casting of David Corenswet with Chris Pratt’s phenomenal MCU debut as Star-Lord.

John Rocha and Jeff Sneider’s disappointing update about Superman‘s early screening 

Following the release of James Gunn’s Superman trailer on December 19, THR confirmed a private screening of the unfinished film at the Warner lot. Thereafter, within a week, The Hot Mic’s John Rocha and Jeff Sneider revealed a rather negative update about the screenings and added that reshoots were happening on the film.

David Corenswet as Clark Kent in Superman | image: Warner Bros.

[The] buzz is not good. I’m hearing bad things. I’m hearing “you should be worried things.” It sounds like James Gunn is aware of some of the feedback. 

Further, criticizing the VFX and the lack of satisfaction surrounding the movie, Rocha and Sneider finally sealed their lips about Superman. However, considering that VFX is only 30-40% completed, and the film is still seven months away from release, it seems that the reviews were rather needless.

Previously, James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy had similarly suffered some pretty bad early buzz and was believed to be a total disappointment way before it hit theaters and ultimately became a huge success. Several other films have had negative buzz due to test screenings, including Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar film, Barbie.

Fans compared David Corenswet’s Superman casting with Chris Pratt’s MCU debut 

Meanwhile, despite John Rocha and Jeff Sneider’s negative update surrounding James Gunn’s Superman test screening, sources who spoke to the audience of the screening told ComicBookMovie that people’s feedback was a lot more positive. So much so that David Corenswet’s Superman was described as “Guardians of Galaxy-level good”.

It seems that while The Hot Mic hosts compared Superman’s negative reviews with Chris Pratt‘s bad buzz surrounding his Guardians of the Galaxy debut, in reality, people compared the good aspects of the two films. Just like Pratt’s MCU debut was James Gunn’s masterstroke, even David Corenswet’s casting as the Man of Steel got appreciated by fans.

Chris Pratt as Star Lord in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies | image: Marvel Studios

Meanwhile, as people who were in attendance at the Superman screening claimed to have reportedly “loved the movie”, and also offered positive reviews to the trailer, it seems that James Gunn’s DCU is going on the right track. Much like his MCU movies that turned into a blockbuster franchise, great things can be expected from his upcoming movie featuring David Corenswet.

Superman is flying into theaters on July 11, 2025.