As James Gunn, the new co-chairman of DC Studio, creates a new universe, an actor remarks, “this news isn’t the simplest.”
Henry Cavill, who just confirmed that he will be reprising his role as Superman, expressed that it was “not the easiest news” that he wouldn’t be appearing in the Superman movie that Guardians of the Galaxy director and DC Studios’ new co-chairman James Gunn is writing.
Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie will take the superhero in a different route and concentrate on his formative years. The announcement comes at a pivotal time for DC Studios and its parent firm Warner Brothers, which has been axing numerous projects in order to save expenses since since it merged with Discovery, Inc.
Since the 2013 movie Man of Steel, Cavill has played Superman. His most recent appearance as the superhero was in a cameo in Black Adam earlier this year. He revealed he would be coming back to portray Superman in October after leaving the lead role in the Netflix series The Witcher.
Cavill shared on Instagram on Wednesday that he had met with Gunn and his co-chair, Peter Safran, to receive the news.
“I will, after all, not be returning as Superman,” Cavill wrote. “After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their 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.”
“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.”
The focus of Gunn’s film, according to insiders who spoke to the Hollywood Reporter, will apparently be on the hero’s formative years, when he was still passing himself off as Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. Gunn may also direct and write the movie, according to the insiders.
“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,”
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.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022“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.”
Warner Bros apparently approved Cavill’s announcement that he will reprise his Superman role before Gunn and Safran started working at DC Studios on November 1. Just six days earlier, Cavill had mentioned in an interview that he was “extremely happy” about Gunn’s hiring and that he was looking forward to playing a “enormously joyful” Superman.
Patty Jenkins, the director of Wonder Woman for DC Studios, announced on Tuesday that she would no longer be involved in the franchise’s third installment. In a lengthy open letter in reaction to rumors, she stated: “I never walked away. I was willing to do anything that was requested of me. I was under the impression that nothing could be done at the moment to advance anything.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn and Safran have also spoken with Batman star Ben Affleck about the possibility of hiring him as their future director.
According to reports, a Black Superman movie written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and produced by JJ Abrams is still in the works and won’t be harmed by Gunn’s movie.
Since he was briefly fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2018, Gunn has been a leading contender to direct a Superman movie. At the time, Warners president Toby Emmerich advocated for Gunn to take on Superman. Gunn, on the other hand, wrote and directed The Suicide Squad.
