Man of Steel 2 has finally been announced, with Henry Cavill set to make many more appearances in the shared universe now simply known as the DC Universe. The story it tells and the villains it involves are still far from being confirmed, leaving its general direction almost entirely unknown. One thing that's certain is that the movie will have to deal with the fallout of the second and fifth entries in the DCU.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice killed Superman, who returned in both versions of the Justice League movie. Now that he's back in action and shown among the living, it also needs to be explained how "Clark Kent" is back. That leaves the opportunity for comedy, contrivances or a straight-up retcon.
How Will Man of Steel 2 Explain Clark Kent's Return?
As shown in the final moments of Dawn of Justice, Clark Kent was explained as having died during Doomsday's rampage in Metropolis. That was used by Martha Kent and Lois Lane to explain Clark's absence and keep his secret as Superman from posthumously being revealed. Thus, the world was permanently thrown off Clark's scent until his return. Said return to mortality now complicates things, as Clark came back to life during the events of Justice League. In the conclusion of that film and the 2021 release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, Superman has returned to the Clark Kent persona, walking around in this bespectacled guise on the streets of Metropolis.
Given how freely he's acting, it would seem that, after Steppenwolf's defeat, he established that he was, in fact, alive. But the specifics of this aren't told on screen, leaving the newly announced Man of Steel 2 to do it. Given that the movie and Superman's portrayal, in general, are going to be more optimistic than Zack Snyder's films, there's the potential to wave this away in a comical fashion. However, that might be too irreverent, with the situation demanding a more in-depth explanation.
The comics wrote around this issue by having a shape-shifting Supergirl disguise herself as Clark, who's "found" surviving in a bomb shelter full of food and water after Doomsday destroyed most of the city. But that was a ridiculous explanation, and the movies will definitely need something better. One way the situation might be handled is to erase Superman's death from continuity.
The Flash Movie May Retcon Superman's Dawn of Justice Death
Much has been made about the still upcoming movie The Flash, which seemingly borrows heavily from the comic book storyline Flashpoint. Thus, it will likely result in some of the more controversial elements of the DCU getting erased from continuity, namely many of the films released right after Man of Steel. The contentious first meeting between Batman and Superman in this universe could be written out, as could Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday. Thus, the film won't have to explain how Clark Kent came back, as it will be abundantly clear that he never died.
The direction of The Flash's climax has been highly debated and supposedly fluid, given both the actions of its star and the changing goals for the shared universe. At one point, it seemed as if Supergirl and Batgirl might replace their male counterparts, with that idea apparently kiboshed with David Zaslav's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. With Cavill clearly back in the DCU as Superman, the ending of the Scarlet Speedster's film has to go along with this. It finally comes out in 2023, long before Man of Steel 2 does. That gives it the time to softly reboot the DCU, erasing Clark Kent's death so that future movies don't have to explain his return to life.