DC Co-Head James Gunn Announces Henry Cavill is Out as Superman

This is sure to be a huge gut punch to the supporters of Henry Cavill’s Superman. After what was considered a triumphant return back in August, fans were excited for the possibility of Superman’s return to the big screen. The bad news is, it won’t be happening after all.

As confirmed by DC co-head James Gunn on his Twitter, Cavill will not be returning as Superman, and the goal is to completely reboot the franchise and focus on a younger version of the character that works for the Daily Planet. Here’s Gunn’s post:

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.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022

This is especially heartbreaking for Cavill himself, who had left The Witcher series on Netflix with the promise that he would be starring in another Superman project. Though he may be out as the main DCEU Superman, Gunn does say that they have 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.’

We don’t know exactly what project they want Cavill in, but if they just want him to play the new Superman’s father Jor-El, it feels like they would just be rubbing salt on the wound.

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I guess the thing that makes the Superman reveal so disappointing is that Cavill’s return generated so much positivity back in August. I understand the creative decision to reboot the story, but I felt that they should have made Cavill come back for at least one more film.

No release date has been set for the next Superman movie, but Gunn is said to be planning a big slate reveal in January.