Posted in: ABC, Movies, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: opinion, superman

Dean Cain's Superman Slights Include Weird Peter Safran Name-Drop

Dean Cain doesn't like some of the things he's heard happen in James Gunn's Superman, but name-dropping DC Studios' Peter Safran was odd.

Earlier this month, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman star Dean Cain shared some thoughts on DC Studios and James Gunn's David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult-starring Superman, seemingly not happy about this "woke" Man of Steel he had been hearing about – though it wasn't clear if he had seen the film before speaking with TMZ. In addition, he wasn't a fan of Gunn comparing Superman's origin story to the immigration experience, even though he came to Earth from another land (in this case, a dying planet) to live among us – something that sounds a whole lot like the immigration experience in its most basic form.

But that was earlier this month – before the film had actually opened wide (and is pulling in $500M and counting). During a public relations profile on him by Variety, he did have something positive to say about the film: "Seeing Krypto in the trailer gave me goose bumps. He saves a squirrel. He saves a little girl. I respect that." So far, so good, right? Now, this is when things become problematic because later in the piece, we get:

"As for the 'Superman,' Cain is disheartened by what his fellow 'Piers Morgan Uncensored' panelists have told him about the depiction of Ma and Pa Kent and the recurring plot theme that Superman needs to be rescued."

Based on Variety's profile, it would seem that what comes next from Cain is based on what people told him about the film and him not actually seeing it. Which – to be blunt – makes his opinion kinda worthless (even if it was positive)… because we should not comments on things we haven't seen. "James Gunn and his decision to make Ma and Pa Kent the stupid rednecks. That's a choice. And Superman has to be saved, like, repeatedly? On a movie this size, every decision is a choice made carefully." Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell are amazing actors, and their takes on Jonathan and Martha Kent were sweet, heartfelt, and meaningful. Whoever got into Cain's head to convince him they were portrayed as "rednecks" clearly has their own issues.

But it was the last part of what Cain had to share on the topic that really caught our attention because it was an odd place to want to inject a little humor, especially when it doesn't have a lot to do with the topic at hand and comes across as a little forced and desperate… in a joking way! "'And [DC Studios co-head] Peter Safran is a Princeton guy, too, a year ahead of me, but he's never hired me,' he [Cain] says with a laugh," reads the last part of Cain's quote. Aside from the fact that Peter Safran is co-CEO of DC Studios with Gunn, and DC Studios was the studio behind Superman, there really was no reason for Cain to bring up Safran, and "joking" about Safran never hiring him only added to the weird – even if it was "with a laugh."

Did Dean Cain Forget That His Superman Went "Woke" Back in 1997?

Interestingly enough, Cain didn't have a problem with his Man of Steel being "woke" during his run, as a very observant person pointed out on Bluesky. It took some time for us to find out when the clip was from, but it appears to come from S4E14: "Meet John Doe" (March 2, 1997) and S04E15: "Lois and Clarks" (March 9, 1997). The storyline itself involved time travel, Tempus (Lane Davies) becoming President of the United States, and the late, great Fred Willard as President Garner. But here's the part that some of Cain's MAGA folks might take issue with – sure looks and sounds pretty "woke" to me:

Wow, we have a double-header for MAGA folks to get pissed off about! First, there was that whole "woke" vibe that Cain's Clark and Teri Hatcher's Lois had during the scene. On top of that, it appears this Clark doesn't believe that America needs to be made great again. In fact, Lois makes it clear what they're talking about – something that sounds very familiar to what we've been hearing over the past ten years or so. In fact, I'm surprised MAGA fans don't have a problem with the show's title, because it sure seems pretty "woke" to have Lois's name before Superman's… right?

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