'Superman' Disaster Keeps Getting Worse, Hollywood Tries To Have It Both Ways

Well, if director James Gunn was trying to create negative press for the upcoming release of his massive summer superhero movie, he couldn't have done a better job.

Gunn is the director of "Superman," an extremely important movie for him personally, Warner Bros. Studios, and for the total revamp of the DC Studios organization. The financial success of the film would validate the money spent on hiring Gunn to oversee the future of DC comic book film adaptations, as well as providing reassurance to an industry decimated by its own incompetence that superhero movies can still bring in moviegoers.

Characters like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and others are vitally important for the movie business, for Warners and for DC, and as such, films based on those characters have generally avoided politics. Until now, apparently. 

Gunn made the bewildering decision over the weekend to demonstrate that he doesn't understand the Superman character, doesn't understand the political moment he's in, or how audiences think. The "Superman" movie, he says, is somehow about politics and immigration policy.

READ: Woke Director James Gunn Takes on Trump, Says 'Superman' Reboot Is About Politics, Immigration

And when asked about it, one of the film's stars made it even worse.

LONDON - James Gunn attends the "Superman" Fan Event in London's Leicester Square on July 2, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Warner Bros)

‘Superman’ Cast And Crew Can't Stop Getting In Their Own Way

Naturally, reactions to Gunn's remarks have ranged from record-breaking levels of eye-rolling to confusion to outright anger that Hollywood can't stop getting out of its own way. 

And as always, those in the entertainment industry refuse to be anything but hypocritical and two-faced. As the latest example, Nathan Fillion, who plays the Guy Gardner/Green Lantern character in the film, was asked about by Variety at a recent press event. And gave a predictably terrible answer.

 "Aw, somebody needs a hug," he said. "It's just a movie, guys."

This is how it works.

James Gunn says that "Superman" is political, that it's about being an immigrant and "kindness," which is something we've lost. Then when people are understandably annoyed and put off by it, Fillion acts dismissive and says it's "just a movie." Implying that any messages in it are not important. 

Except for years, if not decades, Hollywood has acted and said that characters and representation are far more important than "just a movie." Movies must meet certain racial quotas to even be nominated for an Academy Award. Films are applauded for checking the correct political boxes. Activism has become an integral part of the decision-making process, from whether a film is greenlit in the first place, to casting, to production.

Now that backlash might hurt "Superman?" It's "just a movie."

He's also wrong to act as though people on the right are overreacting or creating controversy out of thin air. Gunn quite literally said the film is political. He said that it will play differently in red and blue states, on purpose, because of "kindness." He demonstrated an incredible amount of ignorance as to what the Superman character actually is. All because he wanted to make a political point.

Superman is not an immigrant, he's not even human. That's the whole point of the story. He's an alien orphan who's adopted by American parents who teach him the values of truth, justice and the American way. The fact that Gunn doesn't understand this message is not a good sign for his version of the Superman story. And the fact that Hollywood and those in it still don't get the damage they've caused to their brand through remarkable hypocrisy, arrogance, ego, and political activism is not a good sign for the financial future of what once was a special industry.