Dean Cain Criticizes James Gunn’s Take on SUPERMAN as an “Immigrant,” and Thinks It Could Hurt the Box Office
Dean Cain, who played Superman in the classic ‘90s series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, is weighing in on James Gunn’s Superman, and let’s just say, he’s not thrilled about how political things are getting.
In a recent interview with TMZ, Cain shared concerns about Gunn referring to Superman as an immigrant, a statement Gunn made while describing the film as “the story of America.” According to Cain, that framing might alienate audiences. Cain said:
“How woke is Hollywood going to make this character? How much is Disney going to change their Snow White? Why are they going to change these characters [to] exist for the times?
“For Superman, it was ‘truth, justice, and the American way.’ Well, they dropped that… They came up with ‘truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.’ Changing beloved characters I don’t think is a great idea. If you want to create a new character go ahead and do that.”
Cain said he supports immigration but feels boundaries are necessary. He used Superman's traditional slogan to frame his point:
“Superman has always stood for ‘truth, justice and the American way,’ and the ‘American way’ is immigrant friendly, tremendously immigrant friendly. But there are rules. Y
“ou can’t come in saying, ‘I want to get rid of all the rules in America, because I want it to be more like Somalia.’ Well that doesn’t work, because you had to leave Somalia to come here… There have to be limits, because we can't have everybody in the United States. We can’t have everybody, society will fail. So there have to be limits.”
Gunn’s remarks sparked backlash among some conservative circles. Fox News dubbed the film “SuperWoke,” with host Jesse Watters quipping, “You know what it says on his cape? MS-13.” Former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway also chimed in, saying:
“We don’t go to the movie theater to be lectured to and to have somebody throw their ideology onto us.”
Cain believes Gunn’s comment may have unintended consequences.
“I think bringing Superman into it… I think that was a mistake by James Gunn to say it’s an immigrant thing, and I think it’s going to hurt the numbers on the movie.
“I was excited for the film. I am excited to see what it is… I’m rooting for it to be a success, but I don’t like that last political comment.”
As for Gunn, he doesn’t seem too rattled. The director responded to the backlash with a shrug:
“I don’t have anything to say to anybody spreading negativity around Superman. I think this is a movie about kindness and I think that’s something everyone can relate to.”
Sean Gunn, who appears in the film as Maxwell Lord, was more direct:
“My reaction to [the backlash] is that it is exactly what the movie is about. We support our people, you know? We love our immigrants. Yes, Superman is an immigrant, and yes, the people that we support in this country are immigrants and if you don’t like that, you’re not American. People who say no to immigrants are against the American way.”
Whether the controversy will impact the film’s box office remains to be seen, but I seriously doubt it will. People are loving the film!
Also, I just want to point out that the whole immigrant Superman thing isn’t new. Not only did the comics touch on it, Smallville even had an entire episide dedicated to it, where Superman was helping somone out and he even referred to himself as an immigrant, and I don’t remember everyone getting all weird about it. It’s just the political climate now.