Comedian and TV presenter Bassem Youssef made headlines earlier this week by telling Salon that he believes he was cut from the upcoming Superman: Legacy because he spoke out about the conflict in Gaza, specifically in a viral interview with Piers Morgan in October.
A source close to the production, however, disputes Youssef's timeline, telling IGN that Youssef's character was dropped from Superman: Legacy well before the Piers Morgan interview.
In the Salon interview, interviewer Dean Obeidallah says to Youssef, "You've been very outspoken on behalf of Palestinian humanity and you lost a role in the new Superman movie and some other projects."
"In the United States of America," Youssef says, "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."
"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," he goes on. "If I'm Arab Muslim, I was the head of Warner Bros., I wouldn't like a pro-zioniest or pro-Isreal 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.”
According to our source, writer/director James Gunn was indeed in talks with Youssef to play the character Rumaan Harjavti. The character was dropped entirely from the script, though, by at least September, before the Morgan interview. Therefore, the source says, Youssef was never offered the role to begin with, and the issue does indeed come down to script changes and the character being cut altogether.
Following the publication of this report, Gunn shared it on his X/Twitter and Threads account, confirming "this is accurate."
This is accurate. https://t.co/oXc23gvq0E
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) February 16, 2024
Superman: Legacy is currently set to debut on July 11, 2025, keeping its release date despite last year's writers' and actors' strikes. It's set to star David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Milly Alcock was also recently cast as the DCU's Supergirl, although it's unclear if she'll appear in Superman: Legacy.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
