Even with James Gunn's DCU reboot well underway, Zack Snyder is standing by his Superman actor, Henry Cavill. After the actor's five-year absence from DC, SnyderVerse fans finally had their wishes granted in October 2022 when Cavill returned in Black Adam and officially announced his return to the role. That all proved short-lived as, simultaneously, Warner Bros. was hiring James Gunn and Peter Safran to lead DC Studios and reboot the DCEU. Just months later, the sad news broke that Cavill would be replaced with a younger actor for Superman, which led to David Corenswet's casting for the new DCU.
Zack Snyder has taken to Instagram just weeks after joining the social media platform to declare, "Henry Cavill is Superman." This comes just four months after James Gunn's Superman flew into theaters, bringing what the DC Studios co-CEO himself had touted as the "true beginning" of his DCU reboot.
The controversial SnyderVerse filmmaker noted that the fresh look at Cavill's brooding Man of Steel comes from the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice set, which was shot from May to December 2014:
"Henry Cavill is Superman. From BvS shot with my monochrome 50mm Noctilux. 3 weeks on Instagram thanks to everyone."
This isn't the first time that Snyder has stood by Cavill with some of his own photography amid the DCU reboot and Corenswet's debut. For one, the director's "Happy Birthday" post on X to Cavill in May noted him as "my friend, amazing actor, and greatest Superman of all time."
Attached was a picture of Cavill wearing a replica of Christopher Reeve's Superman suit for his Man of Steel audition and screen test in 2011, from which point Snyder told on Vero that, "I knew right away he was my Superman."
On the flipside of the coin, James Gunn made the same declaration regarding his Superman actor, David Corenswet, in an interview with Time.
The filmmaker explained that, much like his previous leading men, Chris Pratt and John Cena, Corenswet "treated everyone with kindness and respect" and generally maintained attitudes and a personality in line with Superman on set:
"They treated everyone with kindness and respect. I’ve seen sets that cater to an actor or director’s ego and that’s just not something that would happen with David. He is Superman, even in his nerdiness. He listens to old jazz standards. Like that’s what he listens to, just as normal procedure. Like Superman, he’s a simple man in complicated times."
While the social media wars between Gunn and Snyder fans, each defending their own Superman, are bound to continue for the foreseeable future, both Cavill and Corenswet have joined an ever-growing legacy of actors in the House of El.
Does Henry Cavill Have a Future at DC?
The recent news that both Paramount and Netflix are bidding to acquire Warner Bros. has once again reignited hopes from some for a SnyderVerse comeback. This has only fueled the "#SellTheSnyderVerseToNetflix" movement, hoping that such an acquisition could put Zack Snyder's Justice League 2 on the table.
While there is no evidence to support such a scenario happening at the moment, Henry Cavill could have a future at DC regardless. David Corenswet may now occupy the Superman role, but James Gunn has stated he "would love" to find a place for Cavill in the DCU, which opens up many doors for future casting.
It's safe to say that opinions are mixed regarding Cavill's portrayal of Superman, with many criticizing the character as too dark and brooding. Regardless, there's no denying that announcing his return while plans for a reboot were cooking, perhaps to push Black Adam ticket sales, was unkind, to say the least.
Gunn previously explained to the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he felt "terrible" breaking the news to the beloved British actor. The DC Studios co-CEO himself was blindsided by Cavill's comeback announcement, which came on the same day he signed on to direct the Superman reboot and lead the DCU.
