Yesterday the Internet went ablaze with word that Henry Cavill would no longer be playing Superman. THR reported that talks between Cavill and Warner Brothers over a Shazam cameo fell apart, leading to the actor leaving the role of Superman altogether. After that Deadline reported that WB is looking to take the Superman role in a new direction, with the hopes of casting Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther) as the Man of Steel. Then things got even more confusing…
At this point you would expect that it’s probably all done. Cavill is out, and Jordan or someone else will take over the role. But there’s the other side of this. Cavill’s Manager Dany Garcia posted a Tweet stating, “Be peaceful, the cape is still in his closet. @wbpictures has been and continues to be our partners as they evolve the DC Universe. Anticipate a WB statement later today.” Which means Cavill isn’t out, and the story isn’t true.
Warner Brothers then released their statement, “We have a great relationship and great respect for Henry Cavill that continues to remain unchanged. Additionally we have made no current decisions regarding any upcoming Superman films.” Which is neither confirmation or denial. Then to top it all off Cavill posted the below video to his Instagram page last night:
So what does this all mean? Nothing. There’s an incredibly solid chance that ALL of this is contract negotiations at play in front of a wider audience. Studios do this ALL THE TIME. Remember when Avengers: Age of Ultron wrapped, and after 5 films with Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, there was talk he was “ready to leave.” And word that Disney and Marvel were thinking of ideas on how to replace him? Then he signs an reported 8 figure deal and appeared in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and the forthcoming Avengers 4. Or when Daniel Craig said he’d rather slit his wrist then play James Bond again? Then earlier this year he signed a deal for a supposed $25 million to play Bond one more time.
These types of things happen constantly with big franchises and big actors. Cavill is coming off the highly successful Mission Impossible: Fallout, and despite mustache-gate, many praised his return to the character in Justice League. If anything has been evident across the board the past day, it’s that fans agree that Cavill had the potential to be a great Superman. However he was never given the material that fans desired to see Superman in. For now there’s no reason to think this isn’t anything to seriously worry about. As far as we’re concerned Henry Cavill is still the Man of Steel.
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