Is Superman really an illegal immigrant?

And would we arrest and deport him back to planet Krypton?

By Greg Rabidoux

The newest Superman reboot is crash landing to planet Earth soon. But will we accept the "Man of Steel" or arrest him and send him back in shackles?

These seem to be just the kind of questions which Director James Gunn doesn't just welcome but encourages. No stranger to controversy, Gunn, who was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy 3 for his tweets which mocked and diminished the evils of pedophilia, the Holocaust, and rape, is unapologetic about the politics of his Superman. He asserts that anyone who doesn't like the film's politics, which seem to slant pro-immigration and anti-ICE/Trump are "jerks" and can go "screw off." Fair enough. I guess.

In this new era of segmented streaming and niche marketing, directors, actors, even producers can, maybe even must, be clear about who will and will not like their film. Gunn seems to be sending out a Superman signal (sorry, Batman) to his core followers, in effect declaring, "this is your movie, not theirs." Still, it's tough to imagine old time legendary movie stars like Cary Grant, John Wayne, or Paul Newman or directors like Hitchcock going out of their way to alienate half their audience before their film is even released. But then Gunn is no Hitchcock and his Superman, David Cornswet, no Paul Newman or even Christopher Reeves. The latter embodied the "Man of Steel" and his alter ego Clark Kent in 4 of the overall 10 Superman movies. He never had a bad word to say about the franchise or its audience.

Clearly, Hollywood's last true movie star, Tom Cruise, learned from his getting stung not once, not twice but three times by the toxic poison of politics and controversy. First, it was his jumping up and down on Oprah's talk show couch as he professed his apparent undying love for Katie Holmes. Next, it was his relentless promotion of his chosen religion (cult?) Scientology. Finally, his much-publicized dust-up with fan favorite Brooke Shields over past-partum depression and over-the-counter pills. The verdict? Well, fans like it a whole lot better when the buzz around the next Mission Impossible film is about Tomcat's impossible daredevil stunts not his love life, religion, or views about pregnancy.

A few years ago, I wrote a book called Hollywood Politicos, Then and Now. The upshot was that when actors and directors "share" too much or get entangled in politics their box office tends to suffer. We no longer see Ethan Hunt but Tom the Scientologist. Or, more recently, we no longer see Snow White we see Rachel Zegler the outspoken Palestinian and Gaza supporter. But because of her own tweets we know she doesn't like the original Disney classic and may think less of anyone who does. Now watch the film and put that out of your mind. Tough to do. A truly impossible mission.

But I may need to go back and update my book. Because the James Gunn approach may very well be the new Hollywood playbook. And those of us, like Tom Cruise, who very much want the largest audience possible for our films and wish to avoid alienating anyone may just be too old timey for today's Tik Tok world. We'll soon see if Gunn's Superman is really throwing down a red cape in the sand and we must all choose-Immigration or anti-immigration. Trump's world or not. And if half of the potential film's audience really are "jerks" and can go "screw off."

Of course, I sure won't have the last say. The Box Office will. With a budget of @$300 million, it's reported that Superman needs to soar to a $750 million gross to be a success. Then we'll really know which approach is Superman's kryptonite.

Greg Rabidoux is an award-winning filmmaker, author, and screenplay writer. And probably more Clark Kent than Superman.