It’s been a month and a half since it was announced that Henry Cavill was leaving The Witcher at Netflix. In that time, Cavill confirmed that he was back as Superman after making a cameo as the caped hero in Black Adam, and a follow-up to 2013’s Man of Steel was rumored to have gone into development.
How things change. After DC Studios hired James Gunn and Peter Safran to be its new co-CEOs and formulate a long-term plan for the comic book movie universe, Cavill’s return was thrown into doubt. Now, we know for certain: he will not be returning as Superman.
The news came as one-two punch. Cavill posted the following message on Instagram, letting his followers down as easily as he could while making his own disappointment plain:
"I have just had a meeting with James Gunn and Peter Safran and 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 the hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life. The changing of the guard is something that happens. 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.For those who have been by my side through the years…..we can mourn for a bit, but then we must remember…. Superman is still around. Everything he stands for still exists, and the examples he sets for us are still there! 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."
Meanwhile, James Gunn took to Twitter to put out as many fires as he could, interacting with fans in a thread and outlining parts of his vision for a new DC universe. “Peter & I have a DC slate ready to go, which we couldn’t be more over-the-moon about; we’ll be able to share some exciting information about our first projects at the beginning of the new year,” Gunn wrote.
"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.But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future."
Could Gunn and Safran be considering casting Cavill in another role in their new DC Extended Universe? And would the actor even want to return? The difference in tone between Gunn’s message and Cavill’s is stark enough that I can’t help but feel that they walked away from that meeting with very different feelings about the situation.
Gunn went on to confirm that the new Superman project focused on the hero in his younger years will be a movie as opposed to a television series, and that he’s already been working on writing it “for a while.” He also added that he and Safran “don’t know who is directing yet.”
Robert Pattinson’s Batman will remain separate from the new DCEU
Between this and Wonder Woman 3 getting canceled, there’s a lot of shakeups happening at DC. One part that has so far remained relatively unaffected is director Matt Reeves’ The Batman movie starring Robert Pattison in the title role. There’s already a sequel and a couple spinoffs of the first film in development.
Variety reported yesterday that a “well-placed source” had informed writer Adam B. Vary that Gunn and Safran were “exploring the possibility of incorporating Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s Batman into their wider DC universe.” Twitter being Twitter, I’m sure you can imagine how people took the news.
In a somewhat refreshing bit of transparency, Gunn quashed that particular rumor before it got out of hand. “There are very few reporters I love more than – truly a good guy – but in this case he needs to get a new source as this is entirely untrue.”
So for now, Pattinson’s Batman remains in his own little pocket of the DC universe where he doesn’t have to interact with other DC heroes.
Ben Affleck could direct a project in the new DCEU
But what of Ben Affleck’s Batman, who is slated to make his final appearance in The Flash next summer? Affleck had been pushing for years to direct and star in his own solo Bat-film, and while that’s probably not going to happen, Gunn and Safran did meet with him to talk about his potential future at DC Studios. “Met with Ben yesterday precisely because he wants to direct & we want him to direct; we just have to find the right project,” Gunn told one fan.
This is a developing story, and if the past few weeks have been any indicator, we’ll probably have some new bombshell to talk about before the new year.
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