The Warner Bros.’ DC Universe is going through a major shake-up at the moment and it has just been announced that Henry Cavill (‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’,’The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’) will no longer be playing Superman. That’s right folks, the Man of Steel should now have no scheduling issues for being able to take on the leading role in Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ and you almost have to wonder if he saw the writing on the wall. On a side note, this is probably a bad sign for any chance of Ben Affleck returning as Batman.
It sounds like things fell apart when the studio tried to include Cavill in ‘Shazam!’ in a Superman cameo but when contract talks between Warner Bros. and the WME reps for Cavill broke down, it not only ended a chance to appear in the film but in the future as well. We were already aware that a ‘Supergirl’ movie was on the table and now it appears that the studio wants to focus on her as a teenage superhero which would mean Cavill would have no place in the movie due to his age. With another Superman outing not currently on the table, a studio source stated that “Superman is like James Bond, and after a certain run you have to look at new actors.”
Internal sources aren’t giving the same statement on when it fell apart though as some are stating it happened after Cavill took his upcoming role on ‘The Witcher’ while others are saying that it was after.
Another studio insider is sharing a sentiment which many fans have agreed on which is that “There’s a recognition that some parts of the previous movies didn’t work,” and this could be another step in doing a soft reboot of the aspects of DC’s films which haven’t resonated with audiences or critics.
With ‘Aquaman’ and ‘Wonder Woman’ still being released, we know that the DC Cinematic Universe is going to be continuing but how much is being changed is still unclear. While the solo film for ‘The Flash’ is rumored to no longer be a “Flashpoint” movie, it could still be the easiest way for the franchise to explain away a rebooted world.
At this point, Cavill has played the part in ‘Man of Steel,’ ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,’ and ‘Justice League.’ We were expecting another solo outing for the character to go into pre-production soon but that no longer appears to be the case.
Are you sad to hear that the DC Cinematic Universe will no longer showcase Henry Cavill as Superman? Do you think that they’ll be doing a soft or hard reboot on the character in the near future? Will it be explained why he is missing in any upcoming movies? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter.
