Former Superman Dean Cain Says Superman Has Always Welcomed Immigrants, But Fears James Gunn’s Take Might Be Too ‘Woke’
Dean Cain, who played Superman on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman back in the ’90s, is speaking out about how the character is being handled today, and he’s not happy about it. In a new interview with TMZ, Cain questioned whether Hollywood, and specifically director James Gunn, is pushing the Man of Steel too far into political territory.
Cain’s main concern is that Superman is becoming what he calls “too woke.” He pointed to Gunn’s comments about Superman’s story being tied to America’s identity as an immigrant nation. Cain agreed that Superman is an immigrant, “He’s a freaking alien,” he said, but doesn’t like how far that idea is being pushed in the upcoming movie.
Gunn recently described Superman as “an immigrant that came from other places and populated the country,” and said the film is about “basic human kindness” and how that’s something society is losing. That didn’t sit right with Cain.
“How woke is Hollywood going to make this character?” Cain asked. “Why are they going to change these characters [to] exist for the times?”
He still believes in Superman’s values but says they’re being taken out of context. “Superman’s inherent weakness is his goodness,” Cain said. He added that while America is “tremendously immigrant friendly,” there still have to be limits.
“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,’” he said. “Well, that doesn’t work, because you had to leave Somalia to come here.”
Cain’s comments come at a time when immigration is a major political issue again, especially under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Since his re-election, Trump has made immigration crackdowns central to his agenda, including aggressive deportation plans and attempts to take away citizenship from some naturalized immigrants.
The debate over how Superman is portrayed has even reached conservative media. Fox News host Jesse Watters joked that Superman now fights for “truth, justice, and your preferred pronouns,” and sarcastically said maybe the character should wear an MS-13 gang logo.
James Gunn didn’t respond directly to the criticism but made a brief comment saying he’s “not here to judge people.” Actor Nathan Fillion, who plays Green Lantern in the film, told fans not to overthink it: “It’s just a movie.”
James’ brother, Sean Gunn, who also appears in the film as billionaire Maxwell Lord, responded more strongly. He said, “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.”
Superman hits theaters across the U.S. on Friday, July 11, and is already opening in international markets this week.
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