Henry Cavill Returning As Black Suit Superman In Upcoming DC Movie?
Could Henry Cavill be returning in the black Superman suit we saw in Zack Snyders Justice League? It could happen in another DC movie
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Superman’s black-suited alter-ego may be basking in the sandy dunes of Black Adam’s native country of Kahndaq in the DC supervillain’s standalone film, sources close to Geekosity allege. Rumors about Henry Cavill’s cameo have been circulating online as early as 2014 when Dwayne Johnson was still reading lines for the movie. The Rock, who later won the part, has been a staunch advocate of the Snyderverse continuing indefinitely, with Cavill, in particular, staying on as the DC Extended Universe’s Prime Superman.
The Last Son of Krypton’s Black Suit version was originally meant to appear in 2017’s Justice League, to signify Clark Kent’s subtle turn to the dark side, but was written out of the script when Joss Whedon took over. It finally made its debut in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the four-hour cut of the same movie. The Black Suit is known as the Recovery Suit in the comics. It grants the Kryptonian wearer heightened regenerative abilities by absorbing solar energy faster than the user can sustain injuries. Henry Cavill’s Black Suit Superman was a more formidable foe than his usual iteration and was powerful enough to take on Steppenwolf and his army all at once — and intimidate Darkseid in the process.
Unfortunately, a lot has happened since Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Warner Bros. has officially distanced itself from Zack Snyder, with a reboot in active development following the release of Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, and with it, Flashpoint. Most of the original cast isn’t coming back after that, with Ben Affleck being among the first to hang up his cape. Geekosity’s Edwin Francisco and Mikey Sutton posit this to be completely untrue; while Affleck is definitely out, at least one other (Henry Cavill) isn’t.
Geekosity claims there are several reasons Henry Cavill may no longer be playing Superman after Black Adam, and none of them have anything to do with the Snyderverse being cast aside, or Warner Bros.’s vision for the franchise shifting. With several burgeoning movie-verses stiffly under his belt, including but not limited to The Witcher, Mission Impossible, Enola Holmes, and Highlander, Henry Cavill has become one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood and may demand a steeper price tag to maintain his working relationship with DC Films.
The ex-Tudors star has previously emphasized money playing a key role in which projects he ultimately signs up for. “I’m slightly wary of saying this, because it can be frowned upon, certainly by members of my community and people outside my community,” he told Man of the World in 2016, same year Batman v Superman came out, “but I’m not just doing this for the art. The money’s fantastic and that’s something which I deem — and again, it is frowned upon — very important.”
Henry Cavill’s schedule at present is packed to the brim with numerous franchise starters, and staying in the DC Extended Universe would demand maximal commitment, same way Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Evans made only modest indies and arthouse films during their roughly 10-year contract with Marvel Studios.
According to Francisco and Sutton, only Joss Whedon’s warped version of the Snyderverse is getting blotted out in The Flash. Given how Jason Momoa is still Aquaman, Zachary Levi is still Shazam, and Gal Gadot may still be Wonder Woman, Zack Snyder’s original universe will survive Flashpoint, with only a few adjustments. And since J. J. Abrams’s black Superman is an Elseworlds character, Henry Cavill is still the Prime universe’s Clark Kent. He hasn’t been replaced.
Either way, the Snyderverse will live on in Dwayne Johnson’s post-Flashpoint Black Adam. The former pro-wrestler has been nudging Warner Bros. to allow Henry Cavill into Black Adam’s solo film, in the hopes of filming a no-holds-barred fight to the death between the two heavyweights in a sequel. He’s also willing to executive produce a second Man of Steel and you know what they say about Isaac Newton’s first law of motion: when The Rock is already speeding down a hill, there’s no stopping him. The more Warner Bros. pushes, asserting its agenda, the harder Johnson will resist.
Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson as the titular baddie, already concluded filming on Wednesday. If talks hadn’t petered out and Henry Cavill featured in the movie as promised, we’ll know very soon. Black Adam comes out on July 29, 2022.
