The biggest shake-up of the new DC Studios has happened: The Henry Cavill era of Superman is over.
Late Wednesday evening, news broke that Cavill will not return as Superman for any upcoming films. James Gunn, the co-chair of DC Studios, tweeted out his plans for the Superman character, something he recently said was the top priority at the DC Cinematic Universe.
During his tweets, Gunn broke the news that Henry Cavill is no longer the Man of Steel. Gunn tweeted, “our story will focus on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.”
Check out part of Gunn’s Twitter thread…
Among those on the slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman's life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022
Henry Cavill took to social media to confirm the news, delivering a heartbreaking post.
In part of his Instagram post, Cavill says the news isn’t easy for anyone involved. “It’s sad news, everyone. I will, after all, not be returning as Superman. After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life,” Cavill wrote. “I respect that James and Peter have a universe to build. I wish them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck and the happiest of fortunes.”
This is not the end of Cavill, though, as Variety noted that its sources say, Gunn, co-chair Peter Safran, and Cavill “all met recently and are all energized to find something in the comic book universe for Cavill to tackle.”
Henry Cavill appeared as Superman in numerous films, starting with 2013’s Man of Steel, and co-starring in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The actor also appeared in 2017’s Justice League and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
He most recently appeared as Superman again during the end credits of Black Adam, a scene meant to signal the brand’s future.
Check out the full Cavill post below…
View this post on Instagram
For the new Superman film, James Gunn will be the project’s writer. Reports say the script will focus on the character’s life in the early days of working as a reporter in the city of Metropolis.
In his tweets, Gunn says he’s been writing this script for a while and looks to focus on Superman and critical characters to his legacy, like colleague and love interest Lois Lane.
As for the rest of the plans for the new and hopefully improved DC Studios, Gunn claims we can expect those to come in January.
