Actor Claims He Was Axed From ‘Superman’ for Supporting Palestine, Update Given

Comedian and presenter Bassem Youssef has claimed that he was axed from the upcoming Superman: Legacy (2025) after voicing his support for Palestine.

In a recent appearance on Salon Talks, Youssef told journalist Dean Obeidallah that he recently lost a role in James Gunn’s reboot of the DC Universe after speaking out about the situation in Gaza in a viral interview with Piers Morgan, where he described it as the “worst genocide” that we’re witnessing “in real-time.”

Youssef told Salon: “In the United States of America, you can talk about Joe Biden, you can talk about Donald Trump, but you cannot criticize a foreign government which is kind of, like, very sad, you know? And then because of that, I was cast in the movie Superman, and then they told me, ‘We changed the script’ after this Piers Morgan interview, and I want to assume good faith.”

Originally set to appear as the politician Rumaan Harjavti in Superman: Legacy, Youssef argues that the timing of his removal suspiciously coincided with other actors (such as Melissa Barrera) throughout Hollywood losing jobs after supporting Palestine or criticizing Israel.

“I understand maybe the people who are, you know, in charge, they took the decision, looked at me and didn’t want to have me and maybe I understand,” Yousseff continued. “If I’m Arab-Muslim, I was the head of Warner Bros., I wouldn’t like a pro-Zionist or pro-Israel to be in my movie if he attacked my people. This is the thing that we need to dissect: when I attack Israel, I attack its policy, I’m not attacking Jewish people.”

A report from Variety has since claimed that no formal offer was made to Youssef and that the character was written out “prior to Hamas’ attack in Israel, and before the writers strike began.”

James Gunn, the creative lead of DC’s new universe and the writer and director of Superman: Legacy, has since corroborated these claims. Reposting an IGN article, he added: “This is accurate.”

Superman: Legacy hits theaters in July 2025. While it appears we won’t see Yousseff in the film, it will star David Corenswet as Clark Kent, AKA Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.

Are you excited for Superman: Legacy? Let us know in the comments!