The biggest Henry Cavill Superman news of 2022 is his epic return in Black Adam, but it's clear that Warner Bros. waited too long to bring back the DCEU's most important character. As the DCEU's inaugural actor, Cavill debuted as Clark Kent in 2013's Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder. Since joining the DCEU almost a decade ago, Cavill has only played the Last Son of Krypton three times. After Man of Steel, he co-starred with Ben Affleck's Batman in 2016's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. The following year, the World's Finest Heroes were assembled in Justice League, which had a troubled production. Aside from these big-screen offerings, Cavill's only other Superman appearance was on HBO Max in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Recently, the DCEU faced several hurdles, including a few exits from creatives and actors. For years, Warner Bros. has remained silent about the Cavill's involvement in the franchise, and has refused to give any official word on Man of Steel 2, even though there's clearly interest from the public.
Despite years of rumors saying he was done as Superman, Henry Cavill remained defiant, insisting he hadn't hung up the red cape for good. Now, the studio has clearly pivoted from its initially indifferent approach by bringing Cavill back as Superman in the Black Adam post-credits scene. With the return of Henry Cavill's Superman, news and interest regarding Man of Steel 2 has rekindled online, and Warner Bros. is reportedly in the process of developing the sequel. That said, this entire process hasn't been easy on both viewers and the actor himself, who had previously expressed no longer being interested in the role. Had Warner Bros. formally opened a dialog with Cavill and not made it seem like they no longer needed him, then this issue would have long since been resolved. While it's been confirmed that Henry Cavill's Superman is back in the DCEU, Warner Bros. clearly waited too long and almost lost the DCEU's flagship superhero.
Why DC Nearly Lost Henry Cavill
It's no secret that Warner Bros. has struggled to manage the DCEU. While commercially successful, most DCEU films have received mixed reviews. Despite all of this, both critics and audiences have made it clear that it's impossible to recast Henry Cavill's Superman. Popular fan and critic consensus is that Cavill's Superman is great, but has been let down by misuse in subpar films. Given the right story and approach, however, his version could be an instant classic akin to Christopher Reeve's take on the character. There was hope that Man of Steel 2 could finally deliver on this — and perhaps even Cavill was once optimistic about it, hence why he was so vocal about retaining the role. At that point, Warner Bros. should have recognized the clamor to see more of his Man of Steel and reached out to him earlier. This would have informed Cavill that the studio is working to craft a future for him in the DCEU. Without that, he understandably lined up other projects to keep himself busy, most notably as Geralt of Rivia on Netflix's The Witcher.
Dwayne Johnson Brought Henry Cavill Back As Superman
Appropriately, 2022's most momentous Henry Cavill Superman news was orchestrated by Black Adam himself, as it was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who reportedly cooked up Superman's long-awaited DCEU return. Combined with how The Suicide Squad's Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) was involved in Superman's comeback, it seems that Clark Kent still has a bright future in the DCEU after all, even though Warner Bros. clearly waited too long to bring him back. In fact, Henry Cavill's Superman might have never returned were it not for the direct intervention of Johnson, who has revealed that he's part of a group that fought to bring Cavill back into the DCEU for years. Here's what Dwayne Johnson had to say on the matter (via Variety):
They always said no. But for [producers] Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia & myself ‘no’ was never an option. We can’t intelligently & strategically build out our DC Universe without the greatest superhero of all time. Because for us, the fans will always come first.
As every Henry Cavill-Superman news story can attest to, Johnson's "fans first" philosophy is definitely a good direction for the DCEU. Johnson's comments are also indicative of how the character's future won't just be about Black Adam vs Superman, as he and the DCEU's producers now share the same vision of long-form storytelling instead of a "one-off" conflict between the DCEU's two most powerful superheroes. With Johnson going above executives' heads and practically wrestling for control of the franchise in order to make DCEU fans' dreams come true, it's even clearer that Warner Bros. simply waited too long to bring Cavill's Superman back. That said, it would seem that all is well once more in the DCEU. Hopefully, the people running Warner Bros. Discovery won't make the same mistakes as their predecessors.
