Warning: the following contains spoilers for Black Adam, now in theaters.
As many may now know, Henry Cavill has finally returned to the DC Extended Universe as Superman. Showing up in an after-credits scene in the new film Black Adam, the Kryptonian's comeback is supposedly setting the stage for the long-awaited sequel to Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. As exciting as this is, it could mean that another fan-favorite Superman isn't long for this world anymore.
Superman & Lois has been very well-received by fans and critics alike, with many seeing it as a great modernization of the character. Tyler Hoechlin's tenure as the Man of Tomorrow could be cut short soon, and that's mainly due to Warner Bros. Discovery's reluctance to have competing versions of the same character concurrently. Here's how Henry Cavill's big cameo could mean the end of The CW's best superhero show in years.
Man of Steel 2 Is Still a Few Years Away
Though it's only being tentatively announced, the film currently known as Man of Steel 2 won't be flying into theaters any time too soon. It still needs a director and a screenwriter, not to mention, it needs to cement the rest of the movie's cast. Given Henry Cavill's own busy schedule, many suspect Man of Steel 2 would come out in 2024 or 2025 at best, with others believing that this is the earliest the movie can enter production. After all, Cavill is the star of Netflix's hit adaptation of The Witcher, easily making him the most successful actor to ever play Superman.
At the same time, the third season of the hit TV series Superman & Lois is currently in production. This show -- which was originally believed to be set in The CW's decade-old Arrowverse -- is actually its own universe. The series is also well-received, with many seeing it as a proper fusion of Man of Steel's cynical modernity, the soap opera elements of The CW's Superman prequel series Smallville and more traditional takes on the Big Blue Boy Scout. Due to this, Tyler Hoechlin has quickly become beloved in the role of Clark Kent/Superman, with his iteration of the iconic hero on his own show being far better received than how the character was treated in the Supergirl series. Sadly, all things must come to an end, and that might be the case with any TV version of Superman in the next few years.
WB and DC Don't Like Competing Live-Action Adaptations
One former "rule" among DC/Warner Bros. properties was ambivalence to have competing versions of DC's heroes in similar mediums. This was supposedly why Batman never showed up during the TV run of Smallville, as it was felt that viewers would see the series as a prequel to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. The same thing happened to the Arrowverse's version of the Suicide Squad, which was killed off right before the premiere of the DC Extended Universe movie starring the team. This unsaid rule has supposedly been relaxed in recent years, though there's no manifestation of it.
It could be argued that the proximity of the TV shows Gotham, Batwoman and Titans, along with DCEU films starring Batman, Todd Phillips' standalone Joker and the separate universe of The Batman break this rule already. Batman is DC's most profitable character, however, and these examples still aren't quite the same as Henry Cavill's return and future seasons of Superman & Lois. For instance, most of those shows didn't have a traditional, "mainstream" take on the Caped Crusader in a recurring role that would directly compete with each other. Likewise, Ben Affleck's DCEU Batman hadn't been seen since 2017's Justice League (not counting the 2021 release of Zack Snyder's version of the film), thus making it easier to sell Robert Pattinson's separate incarnation.
Another example would be the TV show version of The Flash and the DCEU iteration, but the latter's solo film is only finally coming out as the former is entering its final season. Such a fate could definitely befall Superman & Lois, with this version of Superman's adventures coming to a close right as Cavill flies back into theaters in his second solo movie. This would make a lot of sense, especially considering The CW's current woes and being bought out recently. Likely shunning scripted genre programming in the near future, the channel now known as The CW won't be keeping shows such as Superman & Lois around forever. Plus, with WBD president David Zaslav prioritizing Superman on the big screen, the silver screen may simply become too small for the Last Son of Krypton.
To see Henry Cavill's return as Superman, Black Adam is in theaters now.