“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” actor Dean Cain believes “Superman” director James Gunn’s decision to call the Man of Steel an immigrant was a mistake that could end up hurting the new DC Universe film financially.
Cain, who played Superman on “Lois & Clark” from 1993 to 1997, has emerged as a politically conservative figure in Hollywood. In an interview with TMZ published Thursday, he responded to Gunn’s recent remark that Superman’s alien origins make his immigrant journey “the story of America.” Gunn’s comments come at a time when, thanks to President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation strategy, immigration has risen as a hotly debated topic in the United States.
“Bringing Superman into this, I think it was a mistake for James Gunn to say it’s an immigrant thing, and I think it’s going to hurt the movie’s numbers,” Cain told TMZ. “I was excited about the movie. I’m excited to see what it is because James Gunn seems to have a sense of humor, and the last few iterations of Superman haven’t had much humor, and I love the humor in Superman. So, I’m rooting for it to be a success, but I don’t like this latest political commentary.”
“I don’t think it’s going to help the numbers, and people really need to be educated on this immigration system because we are the most immigration-friendly country, by far, on this planet,” Cain added.
Gunn’s pro-immigrant comments sparked incredulous outrage from right-wing comic book fans and news personalities, including Fox News’ Jesse Watters, who proclaimed that “the new Superman is going to wake up” and joked, “You know what it says on your cable? MS-13.” Cain, who told TMZ he knows Watters and thinks he’s “great and funny,” offered his perspective on the Fox host’s comments.
“The point I think he was making about the MS-13 [Superman’s] Cape thing was: How woke is Hollywood going to make this character? How much is Disney going to change their Snow White? Why would they change these characters who exist for the ages?” Cain said. “Well, they dropped that. In fact, they let it go… they created ‘truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.’ Changing beloved characters, I don’t think is a great idea.”
“To me, Superman has always stood for ‘Truth, Justice, and the American way,’ and the American way is immigrant-friendly, continually immigrant-friendly. But there are rules,” the “Lois & Clark” star continued. “There have to be limits, because we can’t have everyone here in the United States. Everyone can’t come here. Our society will fail. So there have to be limits.”
Gunn, for his part, responded to the conservative backlash to his comments. “I think this movie is for everyone. I have nothing to say to anyone, like I’m not here to judge people,” the filmmaker told Variety on the “Superman” red carpet on Monday night. “I think this is a movie about kindness, and I think that’s something everyone can relate to.”
