Henry Cavill Is Also Surprised He’s Out as Superman
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Just a month ago, Henry Cavill was on top of the world. There was, arguably, no hotter commodity in Hollywood. He was meeting with Marvel, starring in Netflix’s The Witcher series, campaigning to play the next James Bond, and teasing his return as DC’s Superman. It seemed like the age of Henry Cavill had begun—but in just a few weeks, it all came tumbling down. How the hell did this happen?
Well, Cavill unknowingly hopped back onto a company in full panic mode. Like the bus from Speed, DC Studios execs rigged the media giant to keep chugging through the Snyderverse at record pace—or else it would explode if it fell below 50 miles per hour. There were four different actors who had played Batman over the course of a decade, The Flash film was delayed for three years because of its controversial lead star, and films such as Black Adam barely broke even at the box office. (Not to mention the lack of critical acclaim.)
Despite the hype around Cavill’s highly celebrated Black Adam cameo—arguably the only part of The Rock-led superhero flick that received any praise—the announcement of his return to Superman proved to be the final nail in the coffin. What was there to do but figure out how to get everyone off the bus before it crashed? James Gunn was hired to be DC Studios’ Kevin Feige, and his first plan of action was to join David Zaslav in axing as many properties as he could. Batgirl, Wonder Woman 3, Aquaman 3, and Cavill as Superman—all gutted.
What’s worse is that Cavill had given up almost every other opportunity to return as the Man of Steel. He not only left The Witcher at Netflix—and was quickly replaced by Liam Hemsworth—but his rumored leading role in Marvel’s Wonder Man went to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Sure, he may have had one foot in and foot out of DC’s door since forcing the Justice League VFX team to work overtime by digitally removing his Mission: Impossible mustache. But Cavill seemed genuinely excited to dedicate this next phase of his career to Superman. He called his Black Adam cameo “just a very small taste of things to come." What a small nibble it was.
After the news dropped that Gunn wanted to restart Superman with someone younger—much like what Marvel did with Tom Holland's Spider-Man—Cavill confirmed that he would hang up the cape. “It’s sad news, everyone,” he wrote on Instagram. “I will, after all, not be returning as Superman. After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to the hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life. The changing of the guard is something that happens, I respect that… My turn to wear the cape has passed, but what Superman stands for never will. It’s been a fun ride with you all, onwards and upwards.”
You really can’t help but sympathize with the guy. Like other axed programming this week, it’s a rough time for creators and actors who were building (arguably) very popular series. HBO also gutted Westworld, Love Life, Minx, FBOY Island, The Nevers, Los Espookys, Legendary, and countless animated projects. While this places DC in a precarious state of flux as well, the swift cancelation does bring Cavill back to the front of the race to be the next James Bond. Besides Wonder Man, MCU fan-casting had also already lined the actor up for countless potential Marvel roles, including Captain Britain, Cyclops, Doctor Doom, Hyperion, and Sentry. (These are all real guys, I promise!) Sure, it’s rough to get the rug pulled out from under you—but I’ve yet to see Superman fail.
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