Almost two months after actor Henry Cavill declared on social media he was back as Superman, the actor had to reveal he won’t be back in the role after all.
The news wasn’t surprising, new DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran are overhauling the DC universe and setting a new course for Superman with a younger actor sought for a new take which will be written by Gunn.
That overhaul is expected to have an impact on the previous regime’s DC features. THR today reports that both Cavill and Gal Gadot shot cameos as Superman and Wonder Woman respectively for the upcoming “The Flash” film, but both are now being cut as the studio isn’t going forwards with either “Man of Steel 2” or “Wonder Woman 3”.
The trade says Cavill found himself in a “confluence of different headwinds” at the studio. Dwayne Johnson did indeed push for his return via the “Black Adam” cameo. Cavill reportedly did not have a deal in place to return, only a verbal agreement that the studio would develop future projects.
The soft $389 million worldwide gross of “Black Adam” calls into question any potential sequel plans, with one insider saying: “In the end, he was a pawn in Dwayne’s failed attempt to control a piece of DC.” UPDATE: Home of DCU reports that Johnson has unfollowed the Instagram accounts of both “Black Adam” and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Warner Bros. Pictures co-chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy reportedly did want to make a “Man of Steel” sequel and had hired “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight to write the treatment, which would have had Brainiac as the villain.
Gunn and Safran met with Cavill, Ben Affleck and Jason Momoa personally to discuss their plans and have indicated potential new roles (be it acting or, in Affleck’s case, directing).
Gunn himself has been tweeting up a storm in recent days, with tidbits dropping every few hours. He says: “everything with Black Adam happened before I was around,” he confirms the Superman film he’s doing is NOT an origin story, even though it is a younger Superman, and that they will be focusing on the most well-known DC characters and some lesser known characters simultaneously.
He also confirms that while Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” is not a part of the DCU, the Batman character will be an essential part of the new universe.
