X-Men Star Now Auditioning To Replace Henry Cavill As Superman
Henry Cavill's potential replacements include Nicholas Hoult, Beast from the X-Men films.
James Gunn just wrapped up his press tour for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, and with that his tenure with Marvel Studios. As Gunn switches gears to continue mapping out the new DCU alongside Peter Safran, he’s now well into working through a backlog of audition tapes to find a suitable replacement for Henry Cavill in the upcoming Superman: Legacy film, which will kick off the franchise on the cinematic front in 2025, according to Deadline. Notable names who have submitted audition tapes for the role of Superman include Tom Brittney, David Corenswet, and most notably, Nicholas Hoult, who is most well known for his portrayal of Henry “Hank” McCoy (Beast) in the X-Men films.
Though Henry Cavill has donned the blue and red Superman tights in five DCEU feature films, it has been confirmed that Gunn and Safran are writing the part for a younger Clark Kent/Superman in the upcoming Legacy film. Now that Cavill is on the wrong side of his 30s, the simple fact of the matter is not that he’s too old to portray Superman outright, but rather that he’s no longer the right fit for the timeline that will be explored in Legacy.
It’s been made clear that James Gunn wants to consider every audition tape before the first in-person auditions occur. In addition to Nicholas Hoult being on the short-list for Henry Cavill’s replacement, it has been reported that Emma Mackey (Barbie), Rachel Brosnahan (Dead for a Dollar), and Phoebe Dyvenor (Fair Play) have expressed interest in the role of Lois Lane. We’re sure there were plenty more audition tapes submitted, but as of now, the mentioned names are all that DC Studios has commented on as they work their way through each submission.
The first in-person tests will take place shortly after Father’s Day weekend, and we’ll have to sit tight as we wait for further developments on this front. We now know that James Gunn is not taking the task of replacing Henry Cavill lightly and has stated that he has no qualms about working with The Witcher star in the future. In other words, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Cavill will return for cameo roles in the DCU, considering that he was not outright fired from the role of Superman; he just wasn’t cast this time around.
Although Nicholas Hoult has a pretty big cape to fill, considering how adored Henry Cavill was by DCEU fans, he may be the right pick for the role after all. It’s a bit ironic that Hoult has portrayed a Henry in the X-Men films, but with his past experience in big-budget, larger-than-life superhero films, it’s safe to say that he knows the ropes and is well-equipped to deliver the goods.
With the Legacy audition process just getting started, there’s no knowing who will be the next Superman, and we can still be surprised as we receive further developments.
Once a suitable replacement for Henry Cavill’s Superman is secured, we can expect to find out who will be taking on the role of Lex Luthor (once speculated to be Hoult) as more time passes. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves in looking for a villain when we’re still trying to narrow down the search for the perfect hero.
