Dean Cain, who portrayed Superman in the 1990s television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, has criticised director James Gunn’s upcoming Superman film for being too “woke” and emphasising the character’s immigrant status.
Cain also took aim at director Gunn for comments he made ahead of the film’s release in cinemas in which he branded the superhero tale “an immigrant story”.
Gunn’s comments to The Times UK, where he described Superman as “the story of America” and “an immigrant that came from other places and populated the country”, sparked immediate conservative backlash earlier this month.
The director also characterised his Superman film as “a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
Speaking to TMZ, Cain questioned: “How woke is Hollywood going to make this character?”
The actor believes Gunn made a “mistake” by highlighting Superman’s immigrant story, predicting it will “hurt” the film’s box office performance.
“I think bringing Superman into it… I think that was a mistake by James Gunn to say it’s an immigrant thing, and I think it’s going to hurt the numbers on the movie,” Cain stated.
Despite his concerns, Cain said he remains “excited” to see the film, although he expressed frustration with Hollywood’s tendency to alter established characters, asking: “Why are they going to change these characters [to] exist for the times?”
He referenced Superman’s traditional motto, explaining: “For Superman, it was ‘truth, justice, and the American way.’ Well, they dropped that… They came up with ‘truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.'”
The former Superman actor argued against modifying beloved characters, stating: “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 also questioned broader Hollywood trends, asking: “How much is Disney going to change their Snow White?”
He defended Superman’s traditional values, noting: “Superman’s inherent weakness is his goodness. I mean, sorry, those are great values, in my opinion, and I root for that.”
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Cain hasn’t been the only vocal critic. Fox News host Jesse Watters mocked the film, joking: “Superman is fighting for truth, justice, and your preferred pronouns.”
Watters also quipped that Superman should wear “MS-13” on his cape, referencing the Central American gang.
Conservative commentator Kellyanne Conway added: “We don’t go to the movie theater to be lectured to and to have somebody throw their ideology onto us.”
The backlash emerged amid President Donald Trump’s intensified immigration policies, including community raids and attempts to revoke naturalised citizens’ legal status.
Cain acknowledged Superman’s extraterrestrial origins, stating: “We know Superman is an immigrant — he’s a freaking alien.”
However, he argued that whilst “the ‘American way’ is immigrant friendly, tremendously immigrant friendly,” there must be boundaries.
“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,” Cain explained.
He added: “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.”
Sean Gunn, James Gunn’s brother who plays Maxwell Lord in the film, defended the director’s vision, stating: “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.”
He added: “People who say no to immigrants are against the American way.”
James Gunn appeared unbothered by the conservative criticism when speaking to Variety at the film’s Los Angeles premiere.
“I think this is a movie about kindness and I think that’s something everyone can relate to,” he said, adding he doesn’t have “anything to say to anybody” spreading negativity about the film.
Nathan Fillion, who portrays Green Lantern, encouraged audiences to “see the movie for what it is.”
