We just got breaking news about a new Superman film in the works. Good news: James Gunn will be writing for it. Bad news: Henry Cavill will not be playing the Last Son of Krypton this time.
New Superman Film: Details
The Hollywood Reporter just came out with the news that James Gunn will be writing for his very own Superman film for DC. This will be Gunn’s first time actually writing for a film starring the Man of Steel, with the closest he’s ever come previously to writing a Superman film being the 2019 superhero horror film Brightburn. Unfortunately, Gunn won’t be directing this film. He’s only writing the script for it. We don’t actually know who the director for this new film is though, so it might very well end up being Gunn himself. It’s just speculation though at this point, so take it with a grain of salt.
What’s not speculation though is what this new Superman film is about and who will be playing the Last Son of Krypton. Apparently, this film will star Superman in his younger years. However, Gunn isn’t going back so far that it’s a reboot of Smallville. Instead, Gunn will be focusing on the Man of Steel in his alias as Clark Kent: reporter for the Daily Planet. And unfortunately, Cavill apparently didn’t work out for this role. A new actor will play Clark Kent in this film, but the who is up in the air at the moment. We also have no idea why Cavill didn’t make the cut for this role either. The only clue we have is a Tweet from Cavill himself on the subject below:
Unfortunately, Cavill gives no reason why he’s not returning to play the Man of Steel either. All he’s confirming is that this new Superman film will lack Henry Cavill in the main role. The Hollywood Reporter confirms though that Cavill isn’t leaving the studio entirely. Apparently, he will return in some other role in the DC universe. But for the moment, we’ll just have to await official news from James Gunn or DC as to who will be playing Clark Kent next. Tune back in to THS later to find that out when we do.
Henry Cavill: He Deserved Better Than This (Opinion)
Admittedly, Henry Cavill’s performance as Superman in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League (both DC’s version and the Snyder Cut) got some fairly mixed reviews from critics. A list of critical reviews specifically about Cavill’s performance from Vulture seems to average out his problems to be a perceived stiffness in acting. Regardless of this though, Cavill has been playing the Man of Steel for Warner Bros. for the past 9 years. You would think that means something. And yet, it apparently doesn’t. Not if they can just cut him out of this new Superman film so easily. The complete lack of any explanation for Cavill’s departure from the role makes it even more suspicious. This is in spite of how good-natured Cavill was about it in that Tweet.
Call me paranoid, but I have some suspicions about this. See, if you look at the Superman films Henry Cavill was in, you notice one thing in common with all of them. That commonality is Zack Snyder. He directed all three films in which Cavill starred as the Man of Steel. In both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, Warner Bros. executives effectively sabotaged the films for their theatrical releases by forcing extensive cuts. In both cases, restoration of the cuts resulted in much better films. I think Warner Bros. don’t like that. I mean, even to this day, Warner Bros. refuses to acknowledge the Zack Snyder Cut of Justice League.
Thus, my personal conspiracy theory about this is that Henry Cavill’s departure from the role of Superman is related to Zack Snyder. Warner Bros. despises Zack Snyder now for various reasons. Cavill is permanently associated with Snyder due to Snyder directing the films he starred in. Thus, this decision to get rid of Cavill might be part of a purge (more or less) of anyone associated with Zack Snyder. It’s possible that Warner Bros. might have gotten rid of Cavill simply because of that. Of course, this is a completely unsubstantiated conspiracy theory I came up with. Please take it with as many grains of salt as you like. Seriously, please do. I don’t want anyone to take this seriously…at least, not unless something comes along to actually prove it right. Cross your fingers?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter