Henry Cavill Doesn’t Want To Be Superman Anymore?
It seems that Henry Cavill has pretty much lost interest in portraying Superman, which may not be what the new WB brass wants.
The last fans saw Henry Cavill suit up as the iconic DC superhero, Superman, was in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The actor was rumored to make a brief cameo at the end of Shazam! but ended up backing out. Also, there were rumors of Cavill appearing at last month’s Comic-Con to address his future with DC and Warner Bros., but that didn’t come to pass either. Well, fans may have to wait a bit longer to see Cavill as the famed superhero again. According to Fandango’s Erik Davis, the actor has spoken to the studio about the role and expressed no desire to return. This comes as new leadership has taken over Warner Bros., and a change of direction for DC films was suggested during a recent earnings call.
The new President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, came under fire for canceling the upcoming Batgirl movie slated for HBO Max. Zaslav has since stated that he wants to put the focus back on quality rather than quantity, and it was believed that the film had significant quality issues. The new regime at Warner Bros. is said to be a massive fan of Henry Cavill and his work as Superman. While the suits are up for his return, it doesn’t seem like Cavill wants to go back to downing the cape.
According to Davis, “I’ve heard a story that [Warner Bros.] asked [Henry], and he doesn’t want to do it, he doesn’t want to come back.” Of course, one has to consider that Henry Cavill hasn’t had the best of luck as Superman. His first outing as the iconic hero received mixed reviews from both fans and critics, with many criticizing the bleak tone that Snyder created. Then there were the issues pertaining to Justice League, which saw the iconic character return after being killed in the film preceding it, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Many gawked at the fact that Cavill’s mustache (grown for one of the Mission Impossible films) became an issue while filming the superhero team-up flick. Also, there were the issues regarding Snyder being unable to finish the film due to a personal tragedy and Josh Whedon stepping in at the last minute. The studio apparently didn’t give Whedon enough time to honor Snyder’s vision and it resulted in another mixed result.
Henry Cavill also has projects outside of DC and Superman. He’s currently the star of the Netflix series, The Witcher, which became a huge hit for the streamer when it first premiered in late 2019. He’s also in the upcoming Enola Homes sequel for Legendary Pictures. Cavill’s also an active gamer who infamously almost missed being offered the role of Clark Kent because he was focused on playing World of Warcraft. Cavill has a lot to do outside of DC, but that doesn’t mean a return is out of the question. Plus, with the success of the Snyder Cut of Justice League on HBO Max, fan interest in Cavill has risen over the years.
As of now, only time will tell whether Henry Cavill will come back to the iconic superhero role of Superman. DC’s next outing is Black Adam, which stars Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who interestingly has the same manager as Cavill. There have been rumors of Superman showing up in the third act to take on the villainous DC character. However, nothing has been confirmed at this point, and after this recent development, the chances of Superman making an appearance on the big screen this year have dwindled.
