Superman is undoubtedly one of the most popular and well-known superheroes of all time, so it’s a little strange that there has been so little news from DC about his return to the big screen. Now it looks like there might be some forward momentum and we might even see Henry Cavill return to don the cape and tights. While it was reported that J.J. Abrams was working on bringing a Black Superman to screen with writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, that script might be retooled as a return for Henry Cavill instead.
The big Warner Bros and Discovery merger seems to be the reason behind this shakeup. J.J. Abrams had signed on with Warner Bros for a huge contract that would have him producing various projects for the media production giant. This included DC characters like Zatanna, Constantine, and the aforementioned Superman project. Apparently, the studios have been getting antsy to see some forward motion on these DC projects, which might be why they’re wanting to capitalize on a Superman script that is nearly done. This would be a strange move if it turns out Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote the script with a Black Superman in mind. Also, the movie was rumored to be siloed from the primary DCEU, so it likely wouldn’t have been written with regard to Henry Cavill’s character. Still, it’s always possible to make rewrites if necessary. The status of the J.J. Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates project would likely not affect the other Black Superman that would be coming to HBO Max. That project is being developed by Michael B. Jordan and will introduce Val-Zod, an Earth-2 character who is not the same Kryptonian as Kal-El — the Superman most are familiar with.
The last time we saw Henry Cavill as Superman was in 2017’s Justice League. Technically, we saw him again in 2021’s Zack Synder’s Justice League, but Cavill’s scenes had already been finished, so there was no need for him to suit up for reshoots in the director’s cut. Since Cavill last suited up as Superman, he has been plenty busy in other major franchises. Notably, he played Geralt of Rivia in a couple of seasons of The Witcher on Netflix. He also had a major role in a Mission Impossible film, along with playing the genius detective Sherlock Holmes in the Enola Holmes films.
While Henry Cavill is obviously a very busy man, as he has even more projects in the near future, the good news is that he’s up for playing Superman again if they give him a project. In an interview with Collider, Cavill said that he’s looking forward to playing a Superman that’s more in line with the comics and more idealistic. The Superman films up to this point have been fairly grim, whereas Superman is usually a character that is known for a brighter and more idealistic tone. The end of the Justice League movie gave us a little more of that Superman, but fans would likely welcome seeing a full movie of Henry Cavill playing this kind of Superman.
Reference: https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/henry-cavill-returning-superman.html
