Sean Penn’s ‘Gangster Squad’ may change after Colorado shooting, trailer already pulled

On Thursday, Warner Bros. thought it was a great idea to include the trailer for Sean Penn’s upcoming film, Gangster Squad, with The Dark Knight Rises, the most anticipated film of the summer. However, by Friday morning, following the Aurora, Colorado shooting, it became clear that the trailer had to be pulled. The studio is also contemplating changing the film itself.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Warner Bros. spokesperson Jessica Zacholl said that the trailer has been pulled at every venue. Zacholl stressed that the trailer, which has been in theaters since Magic Mike opened last month, was not attached to every print of The Dark Knight Rises and that it was not shown at the Aurora theater where the shooting occurred.

The trailer has also been pulled from the Apple trailers page and has been taken down by some YouTube accounts. However, many still have the trailer available.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the studio may decide to make changes to the film itself. It includes a scene in which gangsters fire off their machine guns through a movie theater screen to a horrified audience. Executives are reportedly thinking of pushing back the film’s Sept. 7 release and either re-editing the scene or cutting it out entirely. That scene is included in the trailer.

Gangster Squad was directed by Zomblieland’s Ruben Fleischer and stars Penn and Ryan Gosling. It is set in the 1940s and tells the story of Mickey Cohen’s attempt to take over LA.

image: YouTube