Henry Cavill Likely To Don Cape Again As Superman

After word broke this week via multiple sites that actor Henry Cavill was in talks to resume his role as Superman for Warner’s shared universe of DC films, speculation spread that Cavill might finally get a solo sequel to his 2013 origin film Man of Steel. But that’s not the case, as no solo Superman film project is currently in the works. Instead, Cavill’s negotiations are for necessary work on Zack Snyder’s Justice League for HBO Max, but if talks go well then Cavill is likely to also don the cape for either the planned Shazam! sequel and/or Black Adam film.

Rumors about Cavill returning as Superman have remained constant over the past few years. Cavill previously negotiated to make a cameo in 2019’s Shazam! Those talks fell through, however, leaving much frustration on both sides. The failure of prior attempts to get Cavill back into costume is one reason fans should take a wait-and-see approach to the current situation.

While it does appear things are different this time, in light of the AT&T purchase of Time Warner and last week’s announcement that the much-debated Snyder Cut will release on HBO Max, it’s always good to at least be mindful of the complexities of a situation so we don’t wind up having hopes dashed and feeling more disappointed again. A deal appears more likely now, however, because of changing attitudes and emerging options for Warner and HBO Max at a time when so many expectations and plans have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic.

If Cavill does sign on for additional Superman appearances besides his work for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, it will likely include a supporting role in the announced Shazam 2 project and/or the planned Black Adam film. Keep in mind, we’ve been hearing about Black Adam project for several years now, but we finally got a tentative release date of December 2021. Shazam 2 was supposed to begin production sometime this year.

However, those planned production starts and release dates almost certainly won’t happen as expected. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means production can’t possibly get underway any time soon, and it’s unlikely they will get started in time to meet any 2021 release dates. Which brings up the larger point that, aside from voice work for Snyder’s new Justice League cut, it will be quite a while before Cavill could possibly be involved in any other DC movies anyway.

The point is, although we’ll see some additional work from Cavill as Superman in Justice League next year on HBO Max, nobody should assume we’ll see Cavill taking flight as the Man of Steel in any new live-action projects for quite a while. If the negotiations do work out as planned and include some new live-action appearances, the first will probably be Shazam 2 or Black Adam as well. I think there’s a good chance it will be both, with Cavill playing a sort of mentoring role to Billy in the Shazam! sequel and then fighting Black Adam in the spinoff project.

Some reports claim Cavill’s talks do not include an appearance in Black Adam, but that conflicts with some of what I’m hearing, and even if the initial discussions are focused on Shazam 2 and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, I’d be surprised if Black Adam isn’t still an understood on-the-table option depending on how the other situations go.

Superman has been an on-again, off-again proposition for Warner Bros. Multiple film projects have started and stalled, sequels planned and cancelled, and box office fortunes for completed films have been a mixed bag. Warner had up until recently decided to shelve the Man of Steel in favor of Supergirl, whom the studio wanted to use as a new approach to Kryptonian cinema. After that, Superman would be rebooted to fit into Supergirl’s established world. Now, however, it appears the film project Supergirl is shelved and Superman is back on Warner’s mind, although (so far) not for a direct solo sequel to Man of Steel nor in any currently active or developing solo film project of any sort.

Whether Cavill’s eventual agreement with Warner is limited to Zack Snyder’s Justice League, or also includes Shazam 2 and/or Black Adam, we’ll find out soon enough. And again, while I’m not trying to be a naysayer or downer, it is worth remembering these negotiations are ongoing. Not only could they wind up being more limited in scope, they could also include room for an option of additional appearances, without a commitment yet to what those might be.

Personally, my guess is the deal will be for Justice League and Shazam 2, plus at least an option for Black Adam if not a deal for it as well.

My “if/when” and “wait-and-see” are all because we are in the middle of a global pandemic with no easy end in sight, with film production largely at a standstill and no big tentpole productions anywhere close to getting started soon, and because we’ve seen and heard plans for projects come and go too many times to ignore how uncertain such things have been and continue to be, especially for DC movies — and that goes double for DC movies overtly framed within the context of past DCEU releases. So it makes sense to be hopeful, to be grateful for what we have and celebrate the good news we get, but to also be realistic and mindful of how often these things can and do change, especially for DC fans.

I’ll be back with more updates and information, so check this space again soon for more. Meanwhile, read my coverage about Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and my call last year for Warner to release the Snyder Cut on HBO Max.