With James Gunn and Peter Safran out as DC Studios heads, it’s never been a better time for Snyder fans to proclaim, “Restore the Snyderverse and bring back Henry Cavill as Superman.” Well, they’re in luck, as Cavill himself recently addressed potentially reprising his Man of Steel role in a future DC movie.
Speaking with Inverse, Cavill reflected on his decade-long tenure as Clark Kent / Superman in the DC Extended Universe, sharing how his feelings about having played the superhero have changed since becoming a father:
“Sometimes people send my daughter Superman stuff as a joke. Just the other day, we opened this Superman toy, and she looked at it and said, ‘It’s Dada!’ She’s only 2 years and 4 months, so no idea how she knows that’s me; what kind of cosmic connection that was. But it really touched my heart in a special way, because obviously playing Superman was such an honor.
“I’ve met so many young people throughout my tenure [as Superman], and it was always very touching to be able to be Superman for them and have parents handing them over and saying, ‘It’s Superman.’ But when it was with my own daughter — and she still doesn’t know who Superman is — that moment brought it to such a wonderful point. It really brought it home to me, and it really, really, really warmed my heart. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have that opportunity and to have had that experience of her looking at that Superman toy.”
Cavill’s first appearance as Superman was in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013). He reprised the role in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (also directed by Snyder) and 2017’s Justice League (directed by Joss Whedon despite Snyder receiving credit). After that, Cavill’s Superman wasn’t seen again in the DCEU until 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League (Snyder’s director’s cut of the 2017 film). His final main appearance in the DCEU was a scene-stealing mid-credits cameo in 2022’s Black Adam.
While Cavill had confirmed his return as Superman beyond Black Adam, those plans were scrapped after Gunn and Safran took over DC. But with a new DC shakeup having just happened, the door is once again open for Cavill to return as Superman. But does he want that?
“Look, there’s lots of fantastic storylines. There’s always a lot of opportunity. As the pigeon sang to Fievel in An American Tail, ‘never say never.’ And I buy into that. I’ve had such a wonderful time playing Superman in the past. I would never say never now,” Cavill said.
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