There May Still Be Hope For Henry Cavill To Return As Superman
Is there still hope for Henry Cavill to return as Superman in the DC Extended Universe? The studio is definitely interested in keeping him
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One day the questions around Henry Cavill and his role as Superman within the DC Extended Universe will all be settled. Today isn’t that day. It’s been a seesawing of sorts over these last few months as all parties try to decide what the path forward is for the character. The latest rumor from inside Daniel Richtman is that there is still very much interest on the part of the studio for Cavill to stay in the role in order to do cameos, but that the actor is having nothing to do with that plan. And the Superman seesawing continues.
This latest rumor with Warner Bros. and the folks at DC wanting to have their Superman Kryptonian cake and to eat it too does make a lot of sense from a practical standpoint. It stands to reason that the WB brass and creatives would very much like to have Henry Cavill around in the world to continue his run as Superman, but would also be unwilling to hand over more solo or Justice League movies to the actor to headline. From how the character has played out on the big screen in recent features, this line of thinking is totally palatable.
Richtman’s rumor has Warner Bros. reaching out to Henry Cavill to see about him making a cameo in the upcoming The Flash solo movie starring Ezra Miller. Because the characters are all already completely aware of each other after the events of Justice League (and the Snyder cut as well), writing Superman completely out of the universe is a near impossibility at this point. Henry Cavill has clearly established himself in the role for better or worse. Having the actor being able to stop in for a spot or even a smaller arc would be of massive use from a narrative perspective.
And surely, the cameos wouldn’t stop with just The Flash either. There’s a continued ramp-up in the world-building variety around DC. Not only is Flash getting his own film but there’s also an Aquaman sequel, Black Adam coming down the pike, another Shazam! film (that Henry Cavill famously bricked the cameo for the first time around), and many others that exist within the same space as the current Justice League. To have Cavill exit now would cause a sizable headache about what to do with his character. The cameo game has to be strong for the studio.
Of course, word is that Henry Cavill is more than a little miffed about the lack of commitment to him in the role in larger features. Warner Bros. and DC have already quasi-moved on from his character with the next solo Superman movie being centered around a completely different actor in a totally separate world. That’s going to have JJ Abrams in the producer chair and Ta-Nehisi Coates penning the script. It will feature a black actor in the lead.
If there was ever a plan to create a Man of Steel 2 with Henry Cavill in the lead, apparently Zack Snyder would once again be the frontrunner to helm that film. Considering the director’s buy-in with this particular universe, it makes sense to have him aligned until the very end. It’s just increasingly unlikely to ever happen at this point.
