Henry Cavill Dropped as Superman, as James Gunn Conjures New Plans for DC

Henry Cavill won’t be returning as Superman after all. On Wednesday, James Gunn, the Guardians of the Galaxy director and the newly appointed co-CEO of DC Studios, took to Twitter to confirm that a Superman film is in the works, but it focuses on an earlier, younger version of the hero. The Suicide Squad filmmaker has been working on the script for a while now and revealed that the character, understandably, will not be portrayed by Cavill. The 39-year-old actor announced his return to the DC Universe back in October, following the release of Dwayne Johnson-led Black Adam, with reports claiming that Warner Bros. had plans to create a Man of Steel sequel.

Both Gunn and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran recently met with Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav, to unveil their plans to help “reset” the DC Universe. As per Gunn himself, this also involved a “great meeting” with Cavill, where they discussed a “number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.” The actor, who recently announced his exit from Netflix’s mainline The Witcher series, confirmed the news on Instagram, wishing luck to all parties involved, in their goal to revamp the comic book universe.

“I will, after all, not be returning as Superman. 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,” the post reads. “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.” As stated before, Cavill was reportedly brought back to lead a Man of Steel sequel, as a hunt for writers commenced at WBD’s offices. He was last seen in the red cape during a post-credits scene of Black Adam — Johnson made that happen despite protests from the powers that-be at DC at the time.

Responding to replies on Twitter, Gunn confirmed that the Superman project will not be an origin movie, and he has no idea who will be directing it yet. That said, the filmmaker and DC executive mentioned meeting up with Ben Affleck (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), “precisely because” the latter wants to direct a project, and the studio has similar intentions. They still need to find the right project, though.

Last week, reports emerged claiming that Patty Jenkins’ newest treatment of the Wonder Woman series of films was no longer moving forward at DC Studios. Some outlets claimed that the filmmaker had “walked away” from the project, following a dispute over notes with the studio. In a statement shared on her Twitter, Jenkins proceeded to clear out any misinformation regarding the cancellation of Wonder Woman 3. “When there started being backlash about WW3 not happening, the attractive clickbait false story that it was me that killed it or walked away started to spread,” it reads. “This is simply not true. I never walked away. I was open to considering anything asked of me. It was my understanding that there was nothing I could do to move anything forward at this time. DC is obviously buried in changes they are having to make, so I understand these decisions are difficult right now.”

Gunn even replied to her statement, saying “I can attest that all of Peter and my interactions with you were only pleasant and professional.” During a meeting last week, both Gunn and Safran, alongside Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, broke the news to Jenkins, informing her that Wonder Woman 3’s direction “did not fit in with the new (but still unfolding) plans.” That report came just a day after Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984 lead Gal Gadot expressed her excitement to play the titular Amazonian warrior once again, over on her own Twitter.

For now, Gunn, Safran, and Zaslav are on a mission to turn the otherwise messy comic book universe into a connected arc, akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, by charting a 10-year plan that focuses on quality over quantity. Gunn has also been teasing some projects on his socials, which presumably include a Mr. Terrific project and the first poster for the upcoming Blue Beetle movie, slated for release next year.