Director of the New Superman Movie Decides to

Another “Superman” film is about to be launched, as Warner Bros. tries, yet again, to reboot its DC Comics universe after a myriad of failures. At the head of the endeavor is director James Gunn, maybe best identified for his work on the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise. For my money, the first film in the collection was one of the best films Disney and Marvel Studios ever put out. 

Gunn will not be without controversy, though. In the early 2020s, he discovered himself briefly fired after left-wingers rushed to cancel him over outdated tweets where he joked about pedophilia and rape, among different issues. Still, he is a gifted filmmaker, and many people have had high hopes for his reimagining of the DC universe, including “Superman.”

SEE: Incredible ‘Superman’ Official Full Trailer Drops, and It’s Already Gone Viral

Which makes his resolution to burn all the goodwill around his movie to the ground proper before its release a actual headscratcher. During a current interview with The Times of London, Gunn said his film is “about politics,” citing the unlawful immigration state of affairs in the United States, and his reply to anybody who would not like that is “screw them.”

James Gunn Says ‘Superman’ Is About an ‘Immigrant That Came From Other Places’ and How We’ve ‘Lost’ the Value of ‘Basic Human Kindness’: ‘Yes, it’s About Politics’ https://t.co/X3fCHq2yGc

— Variety (@Variety) July 6, 2025

In his Sunday profile with The Times of London, the DC Studios head went deep on the themes and concepts that drive his extremely anticipated “Superman.” He defined that the superhero epic encompasses “the story of America,” and at a fundamental degree, is about a man looking for a higher life away from his unique home. 

“I mean, ‘Superman’ is the story of America,” Gunn defined. “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.”    

Gunn acknowledged that the film’s themes could also be interpreted otherwise across political teams, particularly contemplating the present nationwide unrest around immigration. However, Gunn stands by the beliefs embedded in “Superman,” and added that he doesn’t care if anybody takes offense. 

“Yes, it plays differently, but it’s about human kindness and obviously there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them,” he mentioned. 

I’m not going to outright reject all of the themes Gunn is pushing. I believe conservative commentators can generally be too fast to lash out, and it makes us look petty and overemotional at occasions. Superman does come from a completely different planet, and the historical past of the comics does embody his run-in with authorities who don’t perceive him or consider he’s good. Whether that interprets to “the story of America” is a completely different matter, as I believe there’s fairly a bit more to the nation’s historical past than that, but let’s put that apart. 

The downside with this is how hostile it’s. As a director, producer, actor, or studio government, it’s best to never attempt to promote your film by proclaiming it is about politics and then shouting “screw them” at anybody who may object to that. Americans are rightfully drained of having “the message,” as The Critical Drinker says, shoved down their throats in leisure. After many years of Hollywood pushing overplayed left-wing themes in virtually every film and tv show, a lot of the benefit of the doubt has evaporated. 

So even if the film is not really that political, Gunn has already alienated a massive portion of his potential viewers by basically telling them they are not welcome when he did not need to. I do not get it. How is that a good box workplace strategy? Why not just keep impartial and let viewers resolve how they interpret the movie? That would keep away from a lot of controversy and keep issues apolitical, at least on the floor. 

Of course, there’s one other risk right here. Given the rash of superhero film flops over the previous couple of years (by both Marvel and DC), it is doable the preliminary knowledge on “Superman” is not great, and Gunn and Warner Bros. are wanting to rally people to the theaters by purposely stirring up political controversy. If that’s the plan, I’ve critical doubts about it working. 

But hey, possibly it’s going to be a great film and Gunn’s political jabs are just noise from a man who could not help himself. We’ll just have to wait and see. 

Editor’s Note: Every single day, right here at RedState, we’ll stand up and battle against the radical left and ship the conservative reporting our readers deserve.

Help us proceed to inform the reality. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.