The Hollywood Reporter has dropped an S-shaped bombshell this morning: Henry Cavill is unlikely to reprise his role as the Man of Steel beyond Justice League.
Talks between the actor and Warner Bros. reportedly broke down earlier this year when the latter wanted to carve out room for a Superman cameo in Shazam!, the David F. Sandberg-directed spinoff that’s due to hit theaters in April. The plan now is to focus on the standalone Supergirl movie in the works from screenwriter Oren Uziel – presumably at the expense of Man of Steel 2, given the next solo Superman film isn’t expected to materialize for at least “several years,” according to one source familiar with the situation.
This leaves the DC Extended Universe Worlds of DC without a Superman and, based on THR’s scoop, in need of a new Batman, as Ben Affleck is seemingly close to the exit door, too. For the Last Son of Krypton, though, one source has compared the Superman role to 007 in that it needs to be changed regularly in order to keep up with the times.
Superman is like James Bond, and after a certain run you have to look at new actors.
On a more personal level, Cavill’s departure shouldn’t come as much of a surprise now that he’s taken on the coveted role of Geralt for Netflix’s long-rumored rendition of The Witcher. Word is the actor chose the lavish fantasy series following Warner’s impasse over Superman.
Next up for the fledgling DC Extended Universe is the launch of Aquaman this Christmas. Beyond that, only Shazam! and Wonder Woman 1984 have firm release dates, which tells us that Warner’s superhero franchise is still very much in a state of flux amid the ongoing shake-up.
But, sadly, it would seem Henry Cavill’s days as the great Kal-El are behind him…