Henry Cavill could be stepping down from his role of Superman. This follows on from the current Man of Steel being cast as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of The Witcher. Audiences have been watching the Henry Cavill Superman since he first took up the cape in 2013’s Man of Steel. It appears as though his days as Supes are coming to an end.
The initial report comes from The Hollywood Reporter. In it, it is explained that any contract talks between Warner Bros and Cavill have broken down. The Henry Cavill Superman was meant to appear in the upcoming Shazam! in a cameo dynamic. It seems as though any talks between Cavill’s representatives and Waner Bros broke down in the process, however. A source explained that this was due to scheduling conflicts. Cavill was filming for Mission Impossible Fallout and has since signed on as Geralt in Netflix’s The Witcher series.
Another reason for Cavill’s supposed exit from the DCEU is that a standalone Superman film is not scheduled for the next few years, at least. We’ll have Aquaman, Wonder Woman 1984, Shazam!, Matt Reeve’s standalone Batman film, and Supergirl before any such commitments can be made to the Man of Steel, at least. A studio source explains, too, that “Superman is like James Bond, and after a certain run you have to look at new actors.” It does seem as though the days of Henry Cavill Superman are over.
Henry Cavill has reprised his role as Superman in three films as of writing. Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman Dawn of Justice, and Justice League. Studio heads understand that “some parts of the previous movies didn’t work”, and that they “think [they] can do better.” It sounds as though a soft reset of the DCEU is on its way, and Superman might be the first to change.
