Time Is Running Out On Bringing Henry Cavill Back As Superman
Henry Cavill is saying Warner Bros. needs to make a decision about his role as Superman going forward in the DC Extended Universe
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Henry Cavill might have more of the leverage over Warner Bros. than what originally appeared. For quite some time it seemed like the studio’s unwillingness to commit to the actor over the long term was going to mean him kind of just sitting around until they decided what to do. But that doesn’t look like the case anymore. In fact, it’s appearing quite the opposite with Cavill apparently the one now pressing them to make a decision. Insider Daniel Richtman has it that Henry Cavill has offered the studio something of an ultimatum saying effectively that it’s now or never to decide on him as Superman.
This Richtman rumor, while not confirmed, makes a ton of sense in the context of what’s happening with Henry Cavill right now. It’s been unclear what Warner Bros. and the DC Extended Universe have wanted to do with Cavill’s Superman. Following the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, it appeared there might be a path to bringing him back for more movies, possibly even another Superman solo film. But there hasn’t been any movement on that front at all. In fact, it’s been almost the direct opposite in how they are taking the character.
Henry Cavill might be even more annoyed about the other plan for Superman. That’s because J.J. Abrams has been brought on to produce a new Superman movie in the future. And Ta-Nehisi Coates was signed on to pen the script. But this next movie won’t take place in the current Justice League universe and will instead take the character in a totally different direction. It’s been rumored that the next version of Superman will be black, likely following the Calvin Ellis timeline from the comic books. This is definitely not a Henry Cavill role.
Now, of course, studios can have multiple versions of the same character. That’s the kind of comic book movie landscape we live in these days. Nearly anything is on the table for how they approach different characters. But there’s still no word on how they want to use Henry Cavill in the DCEU even though plenty of other characters continue to get solo movies. Aquaman is getting a sequel, there’s a third Wonder Woman movie planned and The Flash is set to get his first solo film as well. Where does Henry Cavill land in this whole mix?
The reason Henry Cavill might be starting to press the issue with Warner Bros. is that he’s just been signing on for more and more work of late, enough to keep him plenty busy even if his days as Superman are finished. He’s penned a contract with Netflix to continue on as Sherlock Holmes in the Enola Holmes franchise and has just wrapped up filming his second season of The Witcher. He’s entrenched on that platform for the foreseeable future.
And then there was the news that Henry Cavill is going to star in the reboot of The Highlander franchise. That will have John Wick director Chad Stahelski at the helm and could be a major film that will bring back a beloved character and storyline. So the future is bright for Henry Cavill and he doesn’t appear to need to sit around waiting for another studio to make a decision about his career. He’s plenty busy. And now it looks like he just wants WB to put up or shut up when it comes to him playing Superman.
