Today has been a hectic news day for Warner Bros. and DC, as news broke earlier from The Hollywood Reporter that Henry Cavill, the man who has portrayed Superman on the big screen for the last 5 years, would no longer be donning the cape in the DC film universe.
According to THR, sources said that Cavill was parting ways with WB. Apparently, WB had been trying to bring Cavill in for a cameo in their upcoming film Shazam!, but talks broke down between them and Cavill’s reps due to a scheduling conflict, which I’m assuming is probably for Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher that was recently announced. This wouldn’t be the first conflict WB and Cavill have had due to his outside projects, as shown by the infamous “Mustache-gate” debacle surrounding Justice League and Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
THR reports that the door is now closing on future appearance by Cavill as the Man of Steel, and one of the reasons for this is WB’s shift in focus to a Supergirl movie, which will be an origin story featuring a teen superheroine. Furthermore, WB isn’t likely to make a solo Superman film for at least several years, according to another source. “Superman is like James Bond, and after a certain run you have to look at new actors,” says a studio source.
Not long after this report came out, one of Cavill’s reps, Dany Garcia, tweeted out the following statement:
Be peaceful, the cape is still in his closet. @wbpictures has been and continues to be our partners as they evolve the DC Universe. Anticipate a WB statement later today.
— Dany Garcia (@DanyGarciaCo) September 12, 2018
And here is WB’s statement (via THR’s Twitter), which was released not long after that:
Statement from Warner Bros.: "While no decisions have been made regarding any upcoming Superman films, we’ve always had great respect for and a great relationship with Henry Cavill, and that remains unchanged" https://t.co/oy9WHJ2nGE
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 12, 2018
To be honest, the statement from WB doesn’t confirm one way or another whether or not Cavill will continue to be Superman, but instead just says that they still have a good relationship with the actor. It seems a little suspicious that they wouldn’t say anything solid, considering Cavill’s agent made it seem like this report was completely incorrect. Even if they have no current plans for the character, they could have said he was still set to portray the character when they do decide on a direction for the Man of Steel, but this just makes the initial report seem more legitimate, which is definitely upsetting for us fans.
There has been an uproar from the fans since this news broke, as many have been waiting for a true Man of Steel sequel since 2013. Even the director of Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and the early cut of Justice League, Zack Snyder, went online to share a tribute to Cavill’s time as Superman with a storyboard for a deleted scene from his time on Justice League. Snyder was the one who brought Cavill into the world of DC all those years ago.
Cavill has yet to comment on this, and rumors are floating around that WB is eyeing Michael B. Jordan to replace him, which would definitely be an interesting, and inevitably controversial choice. Whatever happens, DC Comics News will be here to give you all the details as they drop.
