Just when you thought Superman might go back to being a fun superhero flick, Kevin Smith seemingly confirms what many fans have been worried about: that it’s all about politics.
Speaking with Deadline while promoting the re-release of Dogma, Smith praised James Gunn’s Superman, but admitted the film leans hard into modern political themes.
Kevin Smith Defends Making Superman Political in Today’s Climate
He called it “charming” for bringing back the red trunks and Krypto the Superdog, but quickly shifted to defending the idea of making Superman answer for his actions in today’s cultural climate.
“Now we live in an era where you can’t just do something good without it being political as well,” said Smith. “It’s a smart sell on the movie, man.”
Is it, though?
Smith Says Superman Rises When America Falls
Smith even referenced an old theory that Superman becomes popular when the country is in bad shape (and that Batman is popular when it’s in good shape), saying the character “plays strongest” when America is struggling as people “want to believe in a f-cking thing.”
“There’s this theory that I didn’t come up with, it’s been around forever, where whether Batman or Superman is ascendant and dominant in the culture has everything to do with where we are as a country,” Smith explained. “So, when times are good for Americans and prosperous, oddly enough, Batman is the dominant character because Batman is a dark fantasy about everything going wrong.” … “
Smith continued, “And then the flip theory of that is Superman is ascendant whenever the country is doing poorly or it needs help, and that’s when that character plays strongest.”
Maybe. Or maybe people are just tired of every superhero movie turning into a lecture?
Superman Carries The Message?
Between Lex Luthor’s “mutant troll monkey army,” fake news plots, and jokes targeting the Snyder Cut, it’s clear Superman is carrying more than just truth and justice, and it’s dropping the American way.
The film seems to be carrying The Message that has turned so many fans off in recent years. Whether fans actually want to hear the message from the Man of Steel (and Gunn) remains to be seen.
At the end of the day, maybe audiences don’t want politics in their popcorn. Maybe they just want Superman to save the day without an agenda.
Superman flies into theaters July 11.
