Superman is soaring into theaters this weekend, and fans may be wondering why Henry Cavill isn’t playing the Man of Steel this time around.
Instead, the titular character’s role is being helmed by David Corenswet in his first time as the iconic superhero.
But what led to the decision, especially when Henry was apparently prepared to return to reprise the role?
Read on to find out more…
In October 2022, Henry announced that he would once again play Superman in a new film.
Two months later, after James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios, he told fans he wasn’t reprising his role after all.
Henry starred as Superman in the 2013 film Man of Steel and went on to reprise the role in 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2017’s Justice League , and the 2021 Zack Snyder cut of Justice League .
In 2023, David was cast as the next Superman.
So why did this happen?
When DC’s new heads took over, several films were scrapped or revised, including Henry ‘s Superman project.
James later warned fans in a post about X to expect a “transition period” as they created a more cohesive story across the DC universe.
“We know we won’t make every person happy every step of the way,” he wrote, “but we can promise that everything we do is done in service of the story and in service of the DC characters we know you’ve enjoyed and valued our entire lives.”
The Hollywood Reporter claimed at the time that Henry did not have a deal in place, just a verbal agreement with the studio for future projects.
In a December 2022 post on x, James said that because the film will focus “on an earlier part of Superman’s life,” ” Henry , who is a decade older than David, will not portray the character.
Henry noted in his December 2022 Instagram post that there are no hard feelings in his end toward the heads of DC.
“The changing of the guard is happening,” the actor wrote at the time. “I respect that. James and Peter have a new universe to build. I wish them the best of luck and the happiest of fortunes.”
In response to the criticism, James also clarified that the actor was not fired.
“We didn’t fire Henry. Henry was never cast,” the director told Thr. “For me, it’s about, ‘Who do I want to cast as Superman, and who makes the filmmakers we want to cast?’ And for me, for this story, it’s not Henry.”
“I like Henry . I think he’s a nice guy. I think he’s getting d— by a lot of people, including the old regime of this company. But this superman is not Henry for several reasons.”
Additionally, he revealed details of a meeting with Henry and left the door open for future collaboration.
“We are huge fans,” he wrote of X. “And we have discussed several exciting possibilities for working together in the future.”
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