“Actor Shares Difficulty in Delivering News After Receiving Green Light from Warner Bros to Confirm Role Return”
James Gunn, the director of Guardians of the Galaxy and the new co-chairman of DC Studios, is working on a Superman movie. However, this movie won’t feature Henry Cavill, who expressed disappointment about the news. It came as a surprise to Cavill, especially considering he had just announced his return to the role.
Gunn’s new Superman film will explore the superhero’s younger years and take the character in a different direction. This announcement comes at a time of significant changes at DC Studios and Warner Brothers. The companies have been scaling back numerous projects to reduce expenses following their merger with Discovery, Inc.
Henry Cavill has portrayed Superman since the 2013 film Man of Steel and made a cameo appearance in Black Adam earlier this year. In October, he announced his return to the role of Superman after stepping down from his lead role in the Netflix show The Witcher.
On Wednesday, Henry Cavill shared on Instagram that he had a meeting with James Gunn and Peter Safran, where they informed him about the decision regarding the new Superman movie.
“I won’t be coming back as Superman, as I had previously announced due to the studio’s request. Although it’s not the most pleasant news, that’s just how life goes. Transition of power is a natural occurrence, and I understand and respect that. James and Peter have their own universe to develop, and I sincerely wish them and everyone involved in the new universe all the best and good fortune.”
Fans might want to “mourn for a bit”, he wrote, but “Superman is still around”.
“It’s not my turn anymore to wear the cape, but the principles that Superman represents will always remain. I’ve had a great time with all of you, and now we continue moving forward to new and better things.”
According to reports, James Gunn’s Superman film will center around the character’s younger years, particularly his time as the Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. Insiders suggest that Gunn might not only be writing the film but also potentially directing it.
“Peter and I have an exciting lineup of DC projects ready, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. We’ll be able to reveal some exciting details about our first projects at the start of the upcoming year,” Gunn shared on Twitter recently. “One of the projects on our slate is Superman. Initially, our story will concentrate on an earlier phase of Superman’s life, which means Henry Cavill won’t be portraying the character. However, we had a fantastic meeting with Henry, and we’re huge admirers of his work. We discussed various exciting opportunities to collaborate in the future.”
Henry Cavill’s announcement of his return as Superman was said to have been approved by Warner Bros. This happened before James Gunn and Peter Safran took on their positions at DC Studios. In an interview just six days prior, Cavill expressed his enthusiasm for portraying a “joyful” Superman and his excitement about Gunn’s involvement in the project.
On Tuesday, reports surfaced stating that Patty Jenkins, the director of the Wonder Woman films, would not be involved in a third installment. However, Jenkins responded to these reports by denying that she had quit. In a detailed open letter, she clarified that she had not walked away and had been willing to consider any requests made to her. She expressed her understanding that there were certain limitations preventing progress from moving forward at the moment.
The Reporter says that James Gunn and Peter Safran, who oversee DC Studios, have talked to Ben Affleck about the idea of him directing a project for them in the future. They have approached Affleck and discussed the possibility of him taking on a directing role in DC Studios.
According to reports, the plans for a Black Superman film, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and produced by JJ Abrams, are still moving forward. This project is said to be separate from James Gunn’s Superman film and will not be affected by it.
Back in 2018, when James Gunn left Marvel Studios temporarily due to being fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, there were discussions about him directing a Superman film at DC. The then-boss of Warner Bros., Toby Emmerich, expressed interest in Gunn working on a Superman project. However, instead of pursuing a Superman film, Gunn chose to write and direct The Suicide Squad.
