When the 9-11 tragedy happened nearly 11 years ago, the Hollywood studio system responded by delaying several movies with terrorist plots, including Collateral Damage starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Warner Bros. may be facing the same type of decision with its upcoming crime drama Gangster Squad, in the wake of The Dark Knight Rises shooting tragedy. The studio is contemplating delaying the release date to edit a critical scene that involves gangsters opening fire in a 1940s movie theater.

The studio is discussing how to proceed with this scene, where theater goers try to escape the gunfire coming from behind the movie screen. Warner Bros. pulled the trailer featuring this footage from prints of The Dark Knight Rises, after the Aurora, Colorado massacre, where 12 died and an additional 59 were injured. The sequence is said to be a climactic moment in director Ruben Fleischer's drama, and editing it may harm the narrative arc. It is possible that the studio may re-shoot new scenes, if they decide to cut this segment entirely.

Warner Bros. has also canceled a test screening scheduled for later this month, although they would not comment any further regarding the status of Gangster Squad. The story follows an elite L.A.P.D. unit, lead by John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), trying to take down the Los Angeles crime boss Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn).