Ahead of Superman's release in theaters last July, we saw a few different pieces of merchandise with abominable snowmen roaming around the Fortress of Solitude.
Toys featuring the creatures even hit store shelves, but this wouldn't be the first time that a superhero movie has cut a character or concept that was in the script long enough for merchandise to be made. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, for example, Rintrah got his own action figure and Funko Pop, and barely had more than a line or two of dialogue.
We've known for a while now that Superman cut scenes featuring Krypto the Superdog attacking the Fortress's abominable snowmen, and that's been confirmed by the officially released script for the movie.
You can read that here, and this excerpt reveals, "Krypto cheerily drags Superman past the corpses of gigantic white kaijus covered in fur, spattered over a few hundred yard radius around the fortress." It's then that the Man of Steel tells the mischievous pooch, "Krypto... You need to stop killing... abominable [snowmen]."
Why didn't this make the final cut? We don't know, but it may have been a pacing issue. We'd also bet on many moviegoers wondering where the creatures were when Lex Luthor invaded Superman's arctic home alongside Ultraman and The Engineer.
The scenes were shot, though, something VFX artist Matthew Eberle confirmed last year. "Originally, when Krypto is dragging Superman, they pass by several dead abominable snowmen," he explained. "Superman says, 'Krypto, you have to stop killing abominable snowmen.' Hit the cutting room floor. I was there."
Whatever James Gunn's reasons were for scrapping this sequence, we do expect to revisit the Fortress of Solitude next year when Man of Tomorrow is released. However, while we may see these abominable snowmen, Krypto will be back by Supergirl's side.
Superman, DC Studios' first feature film to hit the big screen, soared into theaters worldwide last summer from Warner Bros. Pictures.
In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.
The movie stars David Corenswet in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.
"Superman is an indescribable joy," we said in our review, published when the movie arrived in theaters. "A beautiful, moving thrill, David Corenswet is the perfect Man of Steel in a movie packed full of ideas. Fortunately, under James Gunn’s expert direction, all of those work, creating a rousing experience that flies higher than DC has in a very long time."
Superman is now available on HBO Max, Digital, and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.