Actor Bassem Youssef wasn’t cut from Superman: Legacy over comments he made during an interview with Piers Morgan, according to James Gunn.
In October 2023, Youssef appeared on Piers Morgan: Uncensored to discuss the ongoing armed conflict happening in Gaza. Youssef said (via Deadline), “They said Israel is the only military force in the world that warns civilians before bombing them … How f—ing cute! That is so nice of them because with this logic, if Russian troops started warning Ukrainians before bombing their houses, we’re cool with Putin, right?”
Earlier this week, Youssef told Salon that he believes his pro-Palestinian comments resulted in him being removed from Superman: Legacy, which is written and directed by Gunn.
Youssef (via IGN) said, “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. If I’m Arab Muslim, I was the head of Warner Bros., I wouldn’t like a pro-zionist 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.”
Youssef’s character was removed from Superman: Legacy before the Piers Morgan interview
Sources speaking with IGN said Youssef was originally tapped to play a character named Rumaan Harjavti in Superman: Legacy; however, the character was removed from the script in September 2023, approximately one month before the Piers 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,” IGN’s article states.
On Twitter, Gunn confirmed IGN’s story was true, as he retweeted the article with the caption, “This is accurate.”
Superman: Legacy is currently scheduled to release in theaters on July 11, 2025.
