James Gunn Walks Back Political Comments, Blames 'Superman' Box Office On 'Anti-American' Views

‘Superman’ director James Gunn sparked controversy before the release of his summer blockbuster by describing the film as being about an "immigrant," and the values of human kindness.

Understandably, those remarks were taken as a shot at President Donald Trump, who's made enforcing illegal immigration laws a central part of his second term. But Gunn seems stunned that his obvious criticism of the Trump administration was taken as criticism of the Trump administration. 

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn expressed surprise that people labeled the film "woke" because of what he said about the "immigration" angle. 

"I’ve heard people say it was woke, and then I’ve heard a lot of people say it’s not. I am curious as to what in the movie is considered woke," Gunn said to EW. "I think people took something I said…The guy for the London newspaper. Originally, he said that [Superman comic creators] Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were the sons of immigrants, and they wrote Superman as an immigrant story. And I said, yeah, it’s a story about an immigrant, but mostly it’s a story to me about kindness, which it is. That’s the center of the movie for me."

That's…not exactly what he said. And he kept going too.

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

James Gunn Doesn't Understand How He Messed Up With ‘Superman’

Yes, Gunn did say the movie is about "kindness." But acting now as though that's all he said is revisionist history. In fact, he quite literally said it was "about politics." 

"Yes, it’s about politics," he told The Times of London. "But on another level, it’s about morality.

"I mean, ‘Superman’ is the story of America – an immigrant that came from other places and populated the country," the director continued. "But for me, it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost."

"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 continued.

He's acting now as though he's this innocent bystander who said nothing remotely political or divisive. But it's clear from the quotes that he expressly made it political. Then actors from the film defended it by saying that potential viewers upset by Gunn's remarks needed a hug, because it's "just a movie."

"That’s the thing we can all act upon, is kindness," he continued to EW. "And so what does that lead to? Well, does that lead to the way you vote? Sure. Does that lead to everything? Yeah. Does it lead to how many people are dying from road rage? Yes. All those things are affected if people just start to value kindness. I mean, people did value kindness in the past. That was an American value, was kindness, and it doesn’t necessarily seem to be that way to me anymore. So that was always the center of the movie for me, and it wasn’t about anything other than that."

Not only is this not particularly accurate, but it's also not at all what he said originally.

The movie itself doesn't appear to be "woke," which is why Gunn's comments were so bizarre and unnecessary. It's clear he's seen the underwhelming results at the box office and decided to act as though the predictable backlash was unwarranted.

Speaking of underwhelming box office, while "Superman" has been moderately successful at the domestic box office, it's performed well below expectations internationally. Through Tuesday, it has just $173 million at the global box office. And with the budget and marketing costs, it's unlikely to reach the ~$800 million total required to break even. Gunn thinks that's due to "Anti-American" sentiment around the world depressing box office.

"Superman is not a known commodity in some places. He is not a big known superhero in some places like Batman is. That affects things," he added. "And it also affects things that we have a certain amount of anti-American sentiment around the world right now. It isn’t really helping us."

It's amazing how this "anti-American" sentiment only pops up when there's a Republican president. When a senile Joe Biden was doddering around his beach house, moviegoers in other countries would show up. But now? Not a chance. 

Except, of course, that "Lilo & Stitch" was released in 2025 and made nearly $600 million outside the US and $418 million domestically. "A Minecraft Movie" also saw more revenue internationally, with $531 million outside the US and $423 million domestically. Other films that have made more internationally than domestically this year include "F1," "Jurassic World: Rebirth," which released nine days before "Superman," "How To Train Your Dragon," "Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning," and literal "Captain America: Brave New World."

Man, this "anti-American" sentiment sure seems to be inconsistent! And apparently popped up again just nine days after "Jurassic World" blew away its domestic total.

Gunn's just making excuses for the fact that his film has simply not performed as well as he and DC Studios hoped. "Man of Steel," a Superman movie made in 2013, grossed roughly $400 million domestically after adjusting for inflation. "Superman" isn't going to get there. Oh, and internationally, that movie made $379 million, or $523 million in today's money. $923 million at the worldwide box office. 

"Superman" is on track to come in hundreds of millions of dollars below that. And Gunn can try to deflect blame all he wants, but at the end of the day it comes back to him.