“Superman: Legacy” director James Gunn took to social media on Friday to confirm reports that the part Bassem Youssef taped for was cut from the script, and not because of the comedian’s pro-Palestinian comments.
The Egyptian-born TV host and satirist never officially received an offer to star in the superhero film. According to an insider with knowledge of the project, that segment of the script was cut prior to the tragic Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Gunn wrote on X (formerly Twitter) and Threads, linking a report from IGN, “This is accurate.”
Gunn went further on Threads and added: “There isn’t one word against another. [Bassem] and I talked and we’re good. I understand how he thought things might be (which he was clear about in his interview), and I told him the whole story.”
Youssef previously made an appearance on “Piers Morgan: Uncensored” last October and criticized Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas, which he believed cost him the part. He talked further about the situation in an interview released this week.
“I was cast in the movie, ‘Superman,’ and then they told me, ‘We changed the script,’ after this Piers Morgan interview,” Youssef told Salon. “I want to assume good faith. I want to know, I want to believe that this is true. I was a little bit bitter, and I wanted to go, I was like, ‘Oh, screw DC, screw Warner Bros.’ But then I understand, I understand the emotional burden that those people have. I mean, those people have a connection with Israel.”
“Superman: Legacy” kicks off production next month and will be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.
