Henry Cavill Dropped As Superman Because He Won’t Play Politics?
Henry Cavill looks like he is out as Superman. Is it because he's got a bigger project lined up or because he didn't play studio politics enough?
This article is more than 2 years old
Henry Cavill seemed like he was going to be rooted in the character of Superman for years to come. But then the last few days happened and now everything feels up in the air about the future of the character and his roles moving forward. Cavill went from being entrenched in the DC Extended Universe to maybe being on the outs altogether. It could be just part of a rebranding process for the studio. But recent rumors have it that the actor might be getting booted because he doesn’t play the studio game well enough.
The recent rumors about Henry Cavill and his position as Superman come from insider Grace Randolph in a video she made in response to DC moving on from the actor. In it she claims Cavill has a likability problem at the studio and that’s been the case for quite some time. It stems, to some degree, from his inability to play politics within the studio. She posted her thoughts about the situation to her Twitter feed.
Now, of course, this is almost complete speculation or at least some kind of a mashup of a number of different ideas around Henry Cavill and where he stands in the studio. Word can trickle in from executives that will paint a picture of an actor without it being the actual truth. That kind of thing happens all the time. But the timing around this decision does feel odd at best considering the new works DC already has in the pipeline with Justice League characters.
Of course, all of this Henry Cavill talk stems from the news on Friday that had the Superman franchise on the verge of a major shift. Giant Freakin Robot had the early scoops that the studio was considering a shift away from Cavill into a Superman played by a black actor. That is very much in the works now with Ta-Nehisi Coates signing on to pen the new script with a black lead focus. It will be produced by J.J. Abrams and there is already the rumor mill churning on Michael B. Jordan as the new lead.
Is this all around Henry Cavill not having a high in-studio personality rating? That does feel like a bit of a stretch considering just how many star turns he’s made over the last few years both as Superman but also on his Netflix series The Witcher. He could just be moving on from the character because of the rumored Mass Effect project that could be in the works. Or, as Grace Randolph suggests, maybe Cavill is just closing in on the role of James Bond in the post-Daniel Craig era. There aren’t many characters bigger than Superman, but 007 is at least close. Is it that Cavill isn’t liked or is that there’s just another huge movie franchise coming down the pike?
Time will tell on this Henry Cavill news. My guess is that the truth lies somewhere in between. There are probably some in the studio who simply don’t like the guy. But he’s also a big enough star to still lead major franchises. We’ll know soon enough when/if Cavill lands his next gig.
