DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn re-confirmed that he has met with former Superman actor Henry Cavill about a new DCU role for the actor.
As Gunn leads the super-powered franchise into a new era with Chapter 1 of the DCU, titled Gods and Monsters, he also leaves much of what has come before in the rearview.
The perfect distillation of this cleaning of the narrative slate for the DCU can be seen in what has gone on surrounding Man of Steel's Henry Cavill. Upon announcing a new Superman movie was in the works, Gunn revealed that the character "not be played by Henry Cavill" going forward.
This shocking news came amid conversations about the actor suiting up in a Superman sequel of his own after seemingly devoting himself to the role once again following a brief cameo in Black Adam.
James Gunn's Henry Cavill Conversation
Replying to a fan on Twitter, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn re-iterated the fact that he and Henry Cavill have had conversations about finding a new DC role for the actor after it was announced the actor would no longer be Superman.
After responding to rumors Gunn was looking at Cavill to play Frankenstein in the animated HBO Max series, Creature Commandos, the DC executive noted that "[they] have [their] Frankenstein" and it is not Cavill:
"Completely false. We have our Frankenstein - our first choice - & it’s not Henry. Was never discussed with him."
However, he did confirm, yet again, that "they’ve discussed other roles with Henry" in his post-Superman career and that "Frankenstein is not one of them:"
"Its on various news sites & I was asked about it. You might consider that this bile you think comes off in my post has more to do with your framing than what I’m actually saying. I’ve said in the past we’ve discussed other roles with Henry - just Frankenstein is not one of them."
This is all in line with previous comments from the filmmaker who shared that he and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran had met with Cavill and discussed "exciting possibilities to work together," but had never specified that multiple DCU roles were brought up in these conversations:
"But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future."
Is Henry Cavill Done with DC?
Right now, it remains clear James Gunn and Peter Safran are open to having Henry Cavill back in their new DCU, he just will not be playing Superman (or Frankenstein for that matter).
This seems to be the same sort of offer that was extended to Cavill's DC alum Jason Momoa, who could potentially move on from his Aquaman role to play Superman villain Lobo.
And while Momoa seems enthusiastic about the idea of playing a new character in this world, Cavill might not be as inclined. Just because Gunn and Safran met with the Man of Steel actor, does not mean they came to any sort of agreement.
It would not be all that shocking if Cavill is kind of done with DC at the moment. After years away from the Superman role, he was asked to come back for Black Adam, potentially hinting at a solidified future for his version of the character.
However, all would be for naught when those plans were pulled and Cavill's time in the red and blue was officially done.
If he were to be interested in the idea of jumping on board the Gunn and Safran train, Cavill would have plenty of roles it would seem to pick from. Maybe a cool way to honor his time as the Man of Tomorrow, he could play the DCU's version of Jor-El (Superman's father).
It would not be a major starring part but could serve as the perfect tribute to his time in the cape.
