Warner Bros. Might Shift 'Gangster Squad' Release, Reshoot Scenes After 'Dark Knight' Shooting

In the aftermath of The Dark Knight Rises movie massacre in Aurora, Colo., Warner Bros.' upcoming Gangster Squad is in a state of flux.

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The period movie, about how Los Angeles police battled the Mafia in the 1940s and '50s, had been set for release Sept. 7 and has a key sequence featuring a mobster shoot-out at Grauman's Chinese Theater. But according to sources, the studio is re-thinking that sequence, as well as the release date.

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The sequence begins with mobsters bursting through the silver screen with Tommy guns blazing, shooting their way up the aisles, into the lobby and spilling into the courtyard and on to Hollywood Boulevard.

It was supposed to be one of the movie’s showcase pieces, but the weekend's real-life events may have overtaken the movie.

Will Beal, the movie’s screenwriter, has been called in to come up with several new scenarios, including one that would salvage as much as possible of the sequence but have it start somewhere other than the inside of the movie theatre.

It is hoped that some solution can be found that would keep costs low on the $60 million movie and simplify the logistics of bringing back a big ensemble cast that includes Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, among others.

The other big change on the table is moving the release date. The opening could be affected by any reshoots, but the studio might also want to put some distance between the date of tragedy and the time the movie is released before it sends its cast, which includes Sean Penn, Emma Stone and Gosling, to promote the movie.

Warners had no comment on its plans, which are developing.