10 Controversial Movie Scenes That Were Cut Before Release

10. Cinema Gunfight - Gangster Squad

Gangster Squad was like a slick, dumbed down remake of The Untouchables, where a great cast was wasted on a hollow action movie. A few years later it’s mostly forgotten, but before it came out it had to make major alterations because of a real life tragedy.

In 2012 a gunman walked into a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado and opened fire into the crowd, killing twelve people and injuring seventy. This horrific act sent shockwaves across America, and soon movies depicting excessive gun violence came under scrutiny. Gangster Squad, in particular, had to make adjustments, since the trailer depicted a key action scene where gangsters try to assassinate the heroes in a crowded cinema.

Warner Bros knew instantly such a scene wasn’t going to fly, so they removed it and replaced it with a sequence taking place in Chinatown. To date, the cinema massacre hasn’t been released in any form, and with Gangster Squad having faded into memory that’s unlikely to change.