James Gunn‘s “Superman” has ignited an online debate over whether or not its storyline is intentionally reflecting the Israel-Palestine conflict. In the movie, Nicholas Hoult’s villainous Lex Luthor has started a foreign war between two fictional countries. Superman is thrust into the global conflict when he stops Bovaria, the aggressor nation, from attacking its neighbor, Jarhanpur.
Ever since “Superman” opened in theaters (it earned $220 million globally in its debut), online political commentators have been either connecting the movie’s Bovaria-Jarhanpur conflict to the real-life Israel-Palestine conflict or refuting that’s the film’s intention. Hasan Piker, the left-wing political commenter who has a massive following as a Twitch streamer, posted a viral YouTube video explaining how “Superman” exposed Israel. Piker described the movie as “two hours and like 10 minutes of fuck Israel the entire time” and claimed anyone involved with the film would be “lying” if they told you it wasn’t an “analog for Israel and Palestine.”
Piker was responding in part to another YouTube video posted by conservative commenter Ben Shapiro, who proclaimed only those with “left-wing brain” would attempt to view “Superman” as a commentary on the Israel-Palestine conflict (via Forbes). Shapiro said the movie “does not match up to the facts” of the real-life war in Gaza, nor does it have a political agenda. Amidst all the debates, countless articles have popped up online with headlines asking various questions such as “Is new ‘Superman’ movie anti-Israel?” and “Is the new ‘Superman’ movie about the Israel-Hamas War?”
As reported by Variety: “Pro-Palestinian activists and influencers are hailing the film on social media for what they see as an overt rebuke of Israel in the wake of its deadly military campaign in Gaza… However, the timeline might not align with Israel as a stand-in for Bovaria. Gunn turned in his script in May 2023, months before the current Israel-Gaza conflict escalated.”
For what it’s worth, Gunn addressed the matter before “Superman” even opened in theaters. A few days before release, the writer-director told The Times of London: “When I wrote this the Middle Eastern conflict wasn’t happening. So I tried to do little things to move it away from that, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the Middle East. It’s an invasion by a much more powerful country run by a despot into a country that’s problematic in terms of its political history, but has totally no defense against the other country. It really is fictional.”
But even Gunn’s point-of-view on the movie has not calmed down the ongoing debates online, which are sure to escalate as the film’s box office run continues. This also isn’t the first time “Superman” has found itself in the political crossfires. The superhero film became a national talking point pre-release after Gunn called “Superman” an “immigrant.” The comment sparked conservative backlash, with Fox News branding the movie “SuperWoke.”
At the film’s L.A. premiere, Gunn was defended by his brother, Sean, who told Variety: “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. People who say no to immigrants are against the American way.”
Former Superman actor Dean Cain told TMZ that Gunn made a “mistake” going on record with the quote. The White House even got in on the debate by photoshopping Trump onto Superman’s body in a mock poster for the movie that touted the “American Way,” a reference to the superhero’s original tagline.
“Superman” is now playing in theaters from Warner Bros.