Black Adam and Spider-Man: Nowhere are the main spoilers.
It’s the end of an era (again) and Superman fans – Henry Cavill won’t be returning as Iron Man in the revamped DC Universe (DCU).
Cavill and DC Studios’ new co-head James Gunn confirmed on social media that the popular actor will no longer be donning Superman’s iconic red cape. Yep, it’s like a kryptonite dagger stabbing into the hearts of DC fans everywhere.
Superman is on the list. In the initial stages, our story will focus on Superman’s early life, so the role won’t be played by Henry Cavill.December 15, 2022
The shocking news comes just two months after Cavill returned as Superman in Black Adam’s post-credits scene. Cavill’s presence largely suggests he’s signed on to reprise his famous role in the DCU, the rebooted version of the increasingly disjointed DC Extended Universe (DCEU). If you’re interested, here’s how to watch the DCEU movies in order with our definitive guide. You know, before that movie universe shuts down forever.
Anyway, back to Cavill’s Superman. There’s even been speculation that a Man of Steel 2 is in development – with Cavill set to star – following his Black Adam cameo as part of Gunn and co-head Peter Safran’s DCU masterplan .
However, recent rumors have suggested that Iron Man 2 isn’t moving forward after all, and that Cavill may not even be returning. Now, in a lengthy Twitter thread, Gunn has confirmed those reports are true. Instead, Gunn and Safran are moving forward with a young Superman movie without Cavill, which all but confirms that the door is closed for him to play Clark Kent.
With his Superman days seemingly over, what’s next for Cavill?
For starters, a shocking return to Netflix’s The Wizarding World is highly unlikely.
In November, Cavill revealed that he would not reprise his role as Geralt of Rivia after the fantasy series’ next installment, The Witcher, season 3, opens in mid-2023. No official reason for Cavill’s departure was given, but industry sources claim he disagreed with The Witcher’s creative team over the show’s departure from the source material. He will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth starting in season 4, and showrunner Lauren Hissrich says she “completely understands” why the show’s fans The group was outraged by Cavill’s exit.
Whatever Cavill’s reason for dropping Geralt’s sword, we’d be surprised if he made a U-turn and returned to one of the best Netflix shows (in our opinion anyway). It wouldn’t be fair to take that opportunity away from Hemsworth, especially if he signs a multi-year deal to play Geralt — assuming the show is renewed for more seasons. Also, if Cavill isn’t interested in the creative direction of Netflix’s The Witcher series, his return could be read as a groveling return to his old job, especially with his current limited options.
An actor like Cavill isn’t out of work for long, though, so don’t bet against him riding back to the Continent.
So what else fits Cavill? He’s often been linked to playing the role of James Bond — read up on How To Watch The James Bond Movies In Order — so is a 007 turn a possibility?
Again, we’ll file under “Extremely Unlikely.” Of course, Cavill would make a great Bond. He has the size, charisma and quintessentially British air to fill the role with aplomb. However, at 39, you have to question his suitability to play Bond for a long time, and Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has publicly stated that she wants the series’ next cast member to be “10 to 100 years old.” 12-year commitment”.
Is Cavill willing to follow in the footsteps of Daniel Craig (who was also 39 when he first signed on to play Bond) and commit to playing another iconic role in multiple films? In our opinion, probably not. Additionally, he has been booked to star in the upcoming spy movie Argylle on Apple TV Plus. Does Cavill really want to be associated with the two spy-positioned franchises?
So how about a live-action TV project that doesn’t lock Cavill into an overly long multi-year contract and is one of his favorite video game franchises?
Step forward to Mass Effect. In December 2021, Cavill told TechRadar that he’d be “interested” in playing Commander Shepard in a potential Mass Effect TV series, given the opportunity. Cavill’s revelation comes after rumors circulated online — based on one of his Instagram posts — that he would be starring in the Mass Effect TV show on Prime Video.
Amazon Studios is slowly amassing an exciting lineup of fan-favorite video game adaptations of TV shows.A live-action Fallout series is in development, and just last night (14 December), a TV show based on 2018’s award-winning God of War Announced for Prime Video (opens in a new tab). Why not join Mass Effect and hire Cavill? If that ends up being the case, it would be a huge win for Amazon, especially since it would be seen snapping up one of Netflix’s best-selling stars after he left The Witcher.
Speaking of competition, Marvel could beat DC by snapping up Cavill for the MCU role. Cavill has previously denied that he’ll be playing Hyperion in Loki season 2, but as part of the Marvel movie juggernaut, there’s sure to be a role (even if it’s a one-off performance) that would be a good fit for him. How about the villain Sentinel of the rumored upcoming Marvel Phase 5 movie Thunderbolts? Cavill has experience playing bad guys — albeit not much — as August Walker in “Mission: Impossible: Fallout,” his most famous villain role. If he had been hired as someone like Sentinel, seeing Cavill as the villain wouldn’t have been an alien concept to viewers.
If we’re staying in geek territory, why not cast Cavill as the lead in a new live-action Warhammer movie? He’s a huge fan of the board game – surely he (and Warhammer fans around the world) would dream of starring in a movie based on the Games Workshop fantasy series or the Warhammer 40,000 alternate series?
Finally, why not bring him back as Superman? In his Twitter post, Gunn confirmed that he and Cavill Other DCU opportunities discussed (opens in a new tab) This might be for an actor. Well, Iron Man is already a good fit for him. And, if the DCU ends up exploring its own multiverse (regardless of the DCEU’s own take on it, of course), Cavill’s Superman could make a satisfying return as part of any multiverse team in the future.
Spider-Man: Nowhere to Return, bringing Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man to the big screen together, is a marvel (pun intended). Meanwhile, Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its upcoming Into the Spider-Verse sequel, as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, are currently exploring comic book-based multiverses. Why didn’t DC take a lesson from Marvel and Sony’s books and do the same in the DCU, bringing Cavill back one last time? Over you, James and Peter.
For more DC-based content, read How to Watch the Batman Movies in Order. Or, find out which DCEU movies made our list of the best superhero movies.