Former Superman star Dean Cain has come out strongly against filmmaker James Gunn for his recent remarks about the superhero. The actor, known for portraying the iconic DC Comics character in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, described Gunn as “woke” for calling the character an “immigrant”. Cain compared DC Studios adapting Superman to modern times with Disney’s recent Snow White remake. “Why are they going to change these characters (to) exist for the times?” asked Cain.
The actor’s comments come shortly after Gunn described Superman as America’s story, which bats for “basic human kindness” at a time when the idea itself has lost its meaning. Meanwhile, the filmmaker’s brother Sean Gunn, playing Maxwell Lord in Superman, supported him and underscored the vital part that immigrants play in American society. The actor stated, “The people that we support in this country are immigrants and if you don’t like that, you’re not American.”
While Cain agreed with the notion about Superman being an immigrant, he argued that the USA has certain rules and policies in relation to immigration for a reason. According to the actor, the country cannot let in every foreigner because otherwise, “society will fail”. He went on to suggest that, if not for these rules, it would be similar to Somalia.
Conservatives in the USA seemingly believe that progressive social agendas have diluted Superman, moving it away from his classic heroic archetype and associating it with undesirable elements, such as the superimposition of ‘MS-13’ on the superhero suit. Besides James and Sean Gunn, actor Nathan Fillion, who plays Guy Gardner (Green Lantern) in Superman, also tried to defuse the controversy, terming it “just a movie”.