James Gunn says that Superman is a movie for everyone, even those who don’t see it that way. The filmmaker surprised some fans on Sunday in a new interview with The Times, where he said that his Superman movie is “the story of America,” and that it’s about “an immigrant that came from other places and populated the country.” Immigration is a politically fraught issue in the U.S. right now, but Gunn was more restrained at the Superman premiere in Los Angeles on Monday night. In a red carpet interview with Variety, he assured all viewers that Superman is meant to bring people together, not to alienate anyone.
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“I’m not here to judge people,” Gunn said. “I think this is a movie about kindness, and I think that’s something everyone can relate to.” Gunn ignored the interviewer’s mention of specific political affiliations, though his colleagues were not as subtle. His brother Sean Gunn gave a longer answer to a similar question.
“My reaction to [the backlash] is that it is exactly what the movie is about,” 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. People who say no to immigrants are against the American way.”
Meanwhile, star Nathan Fillion was casually dismissive of political backlash to this film, saying, “Aw, somebody needs a hug! Just a movie, guys.”
This round of political discourse started on Sunday, when Gunn told The Times, “I mean, Superman is the story of America. An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
As always, it’s hard to judge the scale of the response to this quote knowing that the outraged comments may be outweighed by silent agreement from many others. However, it did prompt Fox News commenters to nickname the movie “Superwoke,” with anchor Jesse Watters suggesting that this version of Superman would be sympathetic to the international crime gang MS-13.
Comic book fans and those immersed in geek culture know that this is far from a new observation about Superman — the character’s immigrant background has been explored at length in many stories and mediums, and it’s been an essential part of his narrative and symbolism for decades. The character’s original creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were both second-generation immigrants to the U.S., and both were Jewish, creating this character in the 1930s in the years immediately preceding World War II, during a marked rise in antisemitism around the world.
Those unfamiliar with these parts of Superman’s background may be caught off-guard by Gunn’s commentary, especially in today’s political climate, but the fact remains that so far, there’s no sign Gunn’s movie is more politically-charged than any other DC Comics adaptation. Superman hits theaters on Friday, July 11th.
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