James Gunn has confirmed a report that actor-comedian Bassem Youssef was cut from the upcoming Superman: Legacy before his appearances on Piers Morgan — something the actor recently claimed was part of his removal from the film.
Taking to social media, Gunn confirmed a report from IGN that noted that Youssef was involved in the project, but had his role removed before his appearance on Piers Morgan’s show.
Youssef alleges he may have been removed due to his now viral interview
In a recent interview with Salon, Youssef hinted that he may have lost a role in the upcoming DCU film after an interview of his with Piers Morgan in October went viral. In the interview, Youssef was discussing the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict and the treatment of Palestine, something he says he believes led to him being removed from the film.
“In the United States of America, 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,” said Youssef when Superman was brought up.
Following the interview, Deadline reported that Youssef had never been formally offered a role in the film. A separate report from IGN claimed that Youssef had been involved in the film, but was removed from the project before his interview.
