It is appearing as if Henry Cavill has hung up his cape.
The actor to most recently bring Superman, the iconic DC Comics superhero, to life on the big screen will probably not be reprising the role any further according to a story from the Hollywood Reporter.
The Reporter’s sources are stating that recently, the actor was asked to make a small cameo in Shazam, another film in Warner Brothers’ interconnected DC Comics-based cinematic universe, but they were unable to come to terms for the appearance. The Reporter cites scheduling conflicts as the main reason for the breakdown in talks between the actor and the studio. But Cavill has become a much more in demand actor over the last year and it is possible that the issue of his fee for the cameo could have been a factor as well.
But beyond having a token appearance in Shazam, it looks as if Warners doesn’t have much planned for the Man of Steel in the coming future. The next couple of DC Comics adaptations to be going into production later this year and early next year – Joker, the untitled Harley Quinn/Birds Of Prey movie and The Flash with Ezra Miller – wouldn’t require him. The studio is also developing a Supergirl film which, although the characters are cousins, the Reporter doubts would necessitate Superman’s involvement. Although there have been rumors of a Man Of Steel 2 in development, there was never any official announcement.
Cavil first appeared as Superman in Man Of Steel, the premier film in Warner Brothers’ superhero franchise. He followed that up in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Justice League. All three films were met with less than enthusiastic reviews from critics. While they all performed well at the box office, their ticket sales did not meet internal expectations for the films.
The Reporter quotes a studio source as saying “Superman is like James Bond, and after a certain run you have to look at new actors.” Which I suppose is a nice way to say that the studio is actively correcting the course of their DC Comics film franchise away from the mixed and underwhelming results that they have achieved so far.
It is currently believed that Ben Affleck, who played batman in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Justice League will not be returning to play the Dark Knight in the upcoming solo Batman film being directed by Matt Reeves. This may all be part of the studio “hitting the reset button,” another source tells the Reporter.
But Warners isn’t ejecting all of the current elements of the franchise. Early screening reports on Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa and due in November, have been positive and there is much anticipation for next year’s Wonder Woman 1984, the follow up to the franchise’s biggest hit to date.
