James Gunn’s Superman Sparks Uproar: Is the Iconic Hero Now an ‘Immigrant’ Symbol?

If Superman crash-landed in 2024, would he fly straight into an immigration debate or just get called “woke” on the internet? So here we are—truth, justice, and a very American argument. The Man of Steel is back on the big screen, and guess what? Dean Cain, the actor who once wore the tights, isn’t thrilled. Turns out, seeing Superman labeled an immigrant by director James Gunn has Cain—in true Clark Kent style—tearing open his shirt to reveal… not an S, but some very strong opinions about tradition, politics, and one seriously supercharged culture war . The new film ditches the “American way” slogan for “a better tomorrow,” and suddenly, saving the world comes with a Twitter storm. Is Superman really the ultimate symbol of the melting pot, or just the latest scapegoat for our endless debates? Buckle up—this is one superhero story that’s less about X-ray vision, more about seeing the world in a whole new light. LEARN MORE

Even the most casual comic book fan will know the story of Superman, but the actor who used to play the red-caped hero has branded the new version of the film too ‘woke’ for his liking.

For those of you who are unaware, Superman is an alien who crash lands on Earth from the planet Krypton but becomes someone who represents what it means to be an American hero, looking after those who need it most.

Naturally, with Superman being a white guy, he is instantly accepted by locals and becomes idolised after saving the world from all the other-worldly threats and without wanting to give too much of the new release away, that is usually the gist of superhero films.

However, Dean Cain, who portrayed Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent (spoilers) between 1993 and 1997 and is a big supporter of Donald Trump, unsurprisingly wasn’t a fan of the hidden meanings in the film.

Director James Gunn described the titular character as an immigrant in the US, which having come from another planet, he obviously is.

Cain branded the new Superman film ‘woke’ for some reason (ABC)

Trump has, of course, taken a pretty aggressive approach to immigration in the US since returning to the Oval Office, deporting thousands of people to one of the world’s worst prisons and also declaring over 6,000 living people as dead.

Cain told TMZ: “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 went on: “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. You 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 cant have everybody in the United States. We can’t have everybody, society will fail. So there have to be limits.”

David Corenswet portrays Superman in the new blockbuster (Warner Brothers)

Cain reckoned that Gunn calling Superman an immigrant was ‘a mistake’ that was ‘going to hurt the numbers on the movie’, but with the movie soaring close to $120 million in its opening weekend, he’s a little off the mark.

Gunn said: “I think this is a movie about kindness and I think that’s something everyone can relate to.”

Gunn’s brother, the actor Sean Gunn, who plays Maxwell Lord in the film, also weighed in: “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.”

Superman is playing in cinemas now.