Superman: Legacy – the first film set in the DCU – is taking shape, as filming is set to commence soon. At this point, the pre-production process seems to be going smoothly for the Warner Bros.-backed flick. However, writer/director James Gunn’s latest film has recently been caught up in a bit of a snafu involving Bassem Youssef. This situation involved the Egyptian comedian supposedly being tapped for a role in the movie, before ultimately losing it. Many across the Internet seemed to think that a potential feud of sorts was brewing. After the reports and speculation though, Youssef shared his take in an attempt to clear the air.
What Reportedly Happened With The Superman Movie And Bassem Youssef?
The former Al Bernameg host has been a noted political pundit for some time and hasn’t shied away from sharing his take on the current events impacting the world at a given time. With that, he didn’t mince words when he discussed the ongoing Israel-Hamas War while on Piers Morgan Uncensored in late 2023. During the chat, the comic specifically criticized Israel for its actions in the midst of the situation and voiced his support for Palestine. Other actors have reportedly lost career opportunities due to showing such support, with the dismissal of Scream’s Melissa Barrera arguably being the most notable instance.
Bassem Youssef more recently spoke with Salon and, while discussing his views, he revealed he was tapped to join the cast of Superman: Legacy last year. However, he said that after the Piers Morgan interview, he learned that his character had been written out. With that, he expressed his belief that the creative decision was made because he spoke out in favor of Palestine. However, a subsequent report seemed to dispute the claim, with sources telling the news outlet that Youssef’s character was omitted from the script long before he spoke with Morgan. In a post shared to X, James Gunn himself co-signed the details of that story.
Nevertheless, speculation has still swirled around the matter, with certain social media users still champing at the bit for additional insight. This appears to be why the Ramy alum decided to speak out.
Bassem Youssef took to Instagram and shared a personal video in which he shared his experience with the first movie in the DCU’s “Gods and Monsters” chapter. As mentioned in his caption, his reason for speaking out is that “the internet twists things and people read headlines instead of listening to the interviews.” Youssef was quick to give props to James Gunn, before he went into his account of what supposedly transpired:
First of all, I’m a huge fan of James Gunn, nothing but love and respect for this guy. Now, here’s what happened. Last June, one day before the actors’ strike, I get an audition for a role in the new Superman movie. I do the audition, I send it and in less than an hour, I get a call from my agent. He told me, ‘James Gunn loved the tape, and he wants to have a Zoom call with you.’ I have a great call with James, he tells me he likes to interview his actors so to make sure that everybody has good chemistry on set. … And then months go by. October 7, I go on Piers Morgan’s show, I do two interviews. And then, after the interview, right after the strike ends, we get a call from the studio who said, ‘Bassem is no longer with us, because the script has been changed.’ Now, you see where I can see that from my point of view, the timing was bad. Even if it was a script change, this looks very bad, because a lot of people have also lost roles because of their political stance.
The comedian went on to say that he was “sad” about how it all turned out but didn’t immediately discuss it at the time. In his video, he also explained that he went on Chris Cuomo’s podcast and, after the interview, Cuomo apparently asked him whether he lost a job due to his support of Palestine, where he shared the story about Superman: Legacy. Though the comic felt that he recalled the situation with a bit of “anger and bitterness” at that point.
With that, Bassem Youssef said that his tone changed when he discussed the situation with Salon and during a BBC interview (the latter of which has not been released as of this writing). All in all, Youssef does think the situation was “mishandled” but also wants to believe there was no “ill intention” on WB or James Gunn’s parts. Additionally, he says that he had a phone call with Gunn after the situation blew up. You can hear the rest of his recollections in the clip below:
So, overall, it would seem that there’s no feud between both sides. And, with that, production can continue to proceed as planned. Nathan Fillion provided an update on Legacy just last week, saying that the cast was about to assemble for a table read. While Bassem Youssef won’t be among the actors working on the upcoming superhero movie, his comments give the impression that he’ll still be among those who eventually check it out.
Superman: Legacy opens in theaters on July 11, 2025, and keep an eye out for news on other upcoming DC movies.