Henry Cavill May Be Stepping Down As Superman

Henry Cavill once introduced himself as a part-time superhero, but those days may soon be behind him.

HENRY CAVILL MIGHT BE STEPPING DOWN AS SUPERMAN

Cavill portrayed the headlining hero in 2013’s Man of Steel, an origin story that was meant to introduce a new Superman to spearhead DC Comics’ cinematic universe. He returned for its two direct sequels, 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and last year’s Justice League, both of which featured Superman prominently.

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However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor may soon part ways with Warner Bros. Studios. Talks between the two parties had been underway for Cavill to appear in a cameo in next year’s Shazam!, the next film in the DC Extended Universe linage. These conversations allegedly broke down, leaving Cavill unlikely to appear as Superman in any capacity in subsequent films.

These talks broke down for somewhat unclear reasons, although some reports claim Cavill’s schedule was incompatible with Warner Bros.’s, which would make sense given he was recently cast as the leading role in Netflix’s The Witcher series. However, some sources contest that Cavill was dropped from DC’s cinematic universe prior to his Witcher casting.

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Warner Bros.’s next crack at adapting Superman‘s comics will be done through a Supergirl origin film. Warner Studios likewise does not plan to make another Superman-only movie for “at least several years.” According to this studio source, “Superman is like James Bond, and after a certain run you have to look at new actors.” Notably, Cavill isn’t the only actor who’s presumed to be hanging up his cape; Ben Affleck, the latest Batman, seems unlikely to reprise his caped alter-ego as well.

Another factor in this could be a massive paradigm shift for Warner Bros.’s handling of their DC Comics adaptions. Save for Patty Jenkins‘ 2017 hit Wonder Woman, the DC Extended Universe films have not achieved a level of critical or commercial success comparable to that of Marvel Studios’ cinematic universe. “There’s a recognition that some parts of the previous movies didn’t work,” said one source. Another echoed the sentiment, saying that Warner Bros. might be striving to enact a soft “reset” and start veering their universe into another, hopefully more prosperous direction.