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After this past weekend, I dare say it will be tough for any future 2026 movie releases to “win” a Worst Needle Drop poll, because public opinion seems to have placed that crown atop the wind-blown blonde hair (and headphones) of Supergirl, thanks in large part to the third act’s much-criticized climactic fight sequence. The action plays out to the tune of Jimmy Eat World’s 2001 single “The Middle,” or rather a revamped cover of that track from Kelty Greye and KidMotel, and the sequence has underwhelmed audiences.
Okay, that may be overly smoothing things over. That choice of song, for one reason or several others, severely rattled people in ways that are normally reserved for baffling casting choices and head-smacking character choices. So to learn that director Craig Gillespie, screenwriter Ana Nogueira & Co. went through around 45 song options before landing on “The Middle,” well that was just a bridge too far. When asked by Rolling Stone about landing on that particular soundtrack entry, the creative duo shared:
- ANA NOGUEIRA: Oh, God. It went ’round and ’round, didn’t it? There were a lot of options.
- CRAIG GILLESPIE: That was probably the biggest discussion. And it was down to the very last week, and I gotta give James credit for that one.
Two major details to take away from that, I’d think. One, that this decision stayed unfinalized until nearly the last minute, and two, that James Gunn got the hat tip for the suggestion. Although I dare say DC fans clocked that second fact the moment the song started. Or even when the movie started. Or when the first trailer was released. (I’m sure some people think he’ll be responsible for curating soundtracks for every upcoming DCU movie under his umbrella.)
The pair were then asked if they’d specifically commissioned the cover to use in the movie, and I’m not sure if it’s better or worse that it wasn’t. As Nogueira and Gillespie put it:
- ANA NOGUEIRA: No, I think we just found it.
- CRAIG GILLESPIE: But there were probably about 45 songs that went against that scene.
It is wild and more than a little stress-inducing to think about watching any movie scene set to 45 different songs. And I would love to know what the full rundown of songs was, even though that’ll likely never come to light. But now it’s time to bring in the fan comments.
Audiences Did Not Hold Back Disdain For Supergirl’s Use Of “The Middle”
Obviously Supergirl‘s lower-than-expected box office debut can’t be entirely blamed on the film’s music, but you might think that was the case judging by some of the pointed complaining and lambasting happening on Reddit in response to Gillespie’s admissions. Here are some of the more clearly stated takes.
- Worst part of the movie for me, wrong choice by far – @darthmcchub
- It’s clear Gillespie was trying to do a James Gunn impersonation, anyone saying otherwise is lying to themselves. – @Ok-Wash-9386
- I was thinking if they were gonna incorporate needle drops, why not have it be a different sound than what Gunn usually does. Like if Supergirl is a party girl she should listen to EDM and the soundtrack should be a bunch of that – @dismal_windfall
- Ive probably never cringed so bad at scene in a movie in my life tbh. It was such a weird choice. Like there’s no way anybody who makes movies for a living looked at that and said this looks and sounds phenomenal… – @Spiritual_Duck318
- I’m of the opinion that the film shouldn’t have had any needle drops at all. I actually like the main theme they cooked up for Supergirl. The scene would have worked a whole lot better (and the rest of the movie too) if they used it. – @DoctorBeatMaker
- This movie really reminded me of the Mario movie with how out of place and unnecessary the needle drops were. – @HyrulesKnight
- Yeah The slomo 360 scene with a pop song in the background was just a worse version of the one from Gunn’s Superman – @who-dat-ninja
- They should have either went with the Supergirl theme or cashed in their synergistic marketing chips and blasted “Call Me” during that sequence. Using “The Middle” (especially that rendition) just didn’t work – @Flat_Fox_7318
Honestly, I would have bet all kinds of money on a remixed rendition of Blondie’s “Call Me” being utilized for Supergirl’s brawl with Krem and his army, and am still gobsmacked that it didn’t happen that way. Maybe this will be a situation where somehow the rights to that cover of “The Middle” will default, and it’ll get replaced by something else down the line. Is that situation something that ever happens? But can it?
Let’s give it up for the one commenter who gave Craig Gillespie and James Gunn a (Krypto-approved) bone and lightly defended the use of the song for thematic purposes…before then echoing another commenter’s d-mning non-praise.
- Kara was protecting the girl throughout that scene so it makes some sense that “everything will be alright”. That’s where the relevance starts and ends though cause I never physically cringed at a needle drop more in my life. – @chrisychris-
I guess it’s sometimes better to be remembered for something rotten than to be so boring that no one remembers anything at all. But it’s arguable.
As far as Supergirl‘s actual ending goes, I was a fan of how it changed up Tom King’s comic resolution, and set Kara up as a powerful counterpart to her morally stoic cousin in Man of Tomorrow, and it’ll be interesting to see how much she does or doesn’t get along with the newly power-suited Lex Luthor.