Following the highly-anticipated release of Black Adam and its reintroduction of the Man of Steel, actor Henry Cavill has officially announced his return as the DCEU's Superman.
On social media, Cavill shared an image of himself in costume as the iconic superhero, writing, "A very small taste of what’s to come, my friends. The dawn of hope renewed. Thank you for your patience, it will be rewarded." In addition, the post included a video in which the actor stated, "I wanted to make it official that I am back as Superman."
In the run up to Black Adam's release, actor and producer Dwayne Johnson and Hiram Garcia teased long-term plans for Superman. Garcia previously stated, "We really want to craft a long form of storytelling and show that these two characters exist in the same universe and are going to have to deal with each other often, either on the same or opposite sides. Hopefully, they're going to clash at some point, but it's not just about a 'one fight' situation. That was never our dream."
Furthermore, recent reports suggest Warner Bros. Discovery is already working on a sequel to 2013's Man of Steel, with Cavill attached. However, it should be noted the studio has not officially confirmed these plans. The project is reportedly searching for writers to pen the script.
What Took Henry Cavill So Long?
Prior to Black Adam, there was plenty of uncertainty surrounding Cavill's Superman. Following 2017's Justice League, there were no appearances and virtually no mentions of Superman in the projects released after and no references to the DCEU of old. It was recently reported this was due to former Warner Bros. Pictures exec Toby Emmerich, who felt Cavill and his team would not co-operate with the studio. This stemmed from an appearance in Shazam!, which Cavill's manager argued would count as one of the actor's contractually obligated appearances. Emmerich supposedly responded, "Henry Cavill is now persona non grata, he's not gonna play ball with the studio? He will never be Superman again."
It was Johnson who ultimately managed to bring Cavill back for Black Adam, seemingly aided by the reshuffling at Warner Bros. Discovery that has taken place over the last few months. Emmerich stepped down earlier this summer and, while former DC Films president Walter Hamada was against including Cavill in Black Adam, Johnson was able to appeal to Warner Bros. Pictures co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy.
Black Adam is playing in theaters now.
Source: Instagram.