‘Superman’ Reboot to Zegler: Hold My Kryptonite

Oh, goody! Another Hollywood fantasy will come to theaters soon to lecture Americans on how awful they are! We all enjoyed the Snow White experience so much, the DC Universe has now rushed to fill the vacuum after that flop.

Over the past two days, both the director and one of the cast of the new Superman reboot have made sure to tell us that this is not a story about Truth, Justice, and the American Way. It’s not even a story about journalism, although that actually might have been fun these days. No, the new Man of Steel is all about breaking down borders, lecturing Americans about their lack of sympathy to the waves of human trafficking crossing undefended borders, and ignoring the criminal aliens plaguing its streets.

Let’s start with Sean Gunn, one of the cast of the new Superman, who insists that people who want border security and immigration restricted to legal entry are “not American.” All righty then!

Sean Gunn on the new Superman movie: “It is about how we support immigrants and if you don’t like it, you’re not an American” pic.twitter.com/ugYiYqrphe

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 8, 2025

Sean Gunn is mainly known for appearing in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, playing Michael Rooker’s second fiddle Kraglin. Those films were directed by his brother James Gunn, who also directed the new Superman reboot for the DCEU and Warner Brothers. Sean Gunn isn’t exactly a featured player in this film, so perhaps his opinion isn’t reflective of what the director and the producers have in mind.

So let’s check in with James to see what message he intended to deliver through the Superman IP. What say you, James?

James Gunn is opening up about what “Superman” is really about.

In his Sunday profile with The Times of London, the DC Studios head went deep on the themes and ideas that drive his highly anticipated “Superman.” He explained that the superhero epic encompasses “the story of America,” and at a basic level, is about a man searching for a better life away from his original home.

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

Well … at least we can all save money at the box office this weekend. “All” may be an overstatement, but not by much these days. Imposing border security and deporting criminal illegal aliens has become very popular; in the Harvard-Harris CAPS poll, it has been a literal 80/20 issue for the last six months. In last month’s CBS poll, it’s more like 2:1, but still an overwhelming consensus. 

And that’s because America lived through four years of de facto open-borders policies that people like the Gunns are championing, and are furious about the massive crime and social problems it created — not to mention its national-security implications. The Department of Homeland Security had to spend several days finding and detaining hundreds of Iranians who came into the country illegally and were released after the US issued an ultimatum to Tehran to end its uranium enrichment program. One of the people who Gunn wants to lecture Americans about turned out to be a former IRGC sniper. 

Was that IRGC operative more “American” than the people who want border security to prevent his illegal entry? Would the Gunn brothers like to address that question? Are the organized-crime gangsters of TdA and MS-13 more American than the people they terrorize in the US? Which would Gunn’s Superman rescue — a human trafficker or the Border Patrol agent shot at by cartels? 

Anyway. At least the Gunns were kind enough to drop the masks before the film opens. They may get a lot of business from the 20% of Americans who agree that borders should not be defended and human traffickers should be allowed to profit off of misery and decay. Of course, that didn’t exactly work out well for Snow White, whose wokery and socialist dog-whistling had less of an 80/20 problem but flopped nonetheless. 

One might think that Hollywood would get the message. Our friend Nick Searcy doesn’t think it will happen soon:

No one understands this:

The box office doesn’t matter to these people.

Their next job does. And their next job will come from the leftist in charge who agrees with everything they are saying. https://t.co/Qc0jrOg2Im

— Nick Searcy, Actor/Director/Producer/Author (@yesnicksearcy) July 8, 2025

Perhaps. But if these high-budget films keep alienating audiences and losing money on the scale of Snow White, those next jobs may not appear at all. At some point, the investors in corporations like Warner and Disney will demand changes in management over these losses, and those opportunities to lecture Americans on their awfulness will become rarer and rarer. I note with some curiosity that Rachel Zegler’s IMDB page has no listing for any upcoming work.

Christian Toto and I will talk about this in our Off the Beaten Path episode later this evening. If you’re not already a VIP member, this is a great time to sign up and get access to our series, and lots more!