Last month Warner Bros. revealed that a new Superman movie was in production, with Star Wars and Star Trek director JJ Abrams producing and Black Panther comics writer Ta-Nehisi Coates working on the script. This announcement came just in advance of the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, which brings back Henry Cavill as Superman.
Beyond this basic information not much has been revealed about the project. There have been rumors it will be a reboot unconnected to the DCEU, similar to Matt Reeves' The Batman and perhaps even featuring a Black Superman, but Coates himself suggested the new Superman movie might be part of the DCEU after all. There are certainly pros and cons to both.
Standalone: Superman Doesn't Have To Be White
While it's rumored that Warner Bros is looking to create a Superman movie with a Black actor as the lead, and the hiring of Ta-Nehisi Coates seems to point in that direction, there is no confirmation that this will actually come to pass.
Hopefully, it will as this would be a terrific victory for representation and diversity for DC, especially in light of recent allegations made by actor Ray Fisher about director Joss Whedon. It would also help them stand out from Marvel, which tends to cast white actors in traditionally white roles rather than aiming for diversity through these means.
DCEU: Henry Cavill Can Stay
At no point has either Henry Cavill or Warner Bros confirmed that he is no longer part of the DCEU, nor has he been fired from playing Superman. Rumors to the contrary all stem from Cavill being unable to appear as a cameo in Shazam due to his commitments to The Witcher.
With Zack Snyder's Justice League hopefully reminding fans why Cavill was so great as Superman, he needs another movie with him as the sole superhero, something he's not had since Man of Steel.
Standalone: No Continuity Required
If Zack Snyder's Justice League proves anything, it's that the continuity of the DCEU has got somewhat complicated, even more so once fans begin discussing which version of Justice League is canon. With the DCEU Superman, for example, Clark Kent is canonically dead.
While it's probably possible for the filmmakers to think up an excuse about how Kent survived, it would be a lot easier just to wipe the slate clean. This would also bring back Jimmy Olsen and Mercy Graves, and allow Lex Luthor to be a businessman again.
DCEU: So Much More Left To Tell
If there's one major reason not to have a major character such as Superman break from the DCEU it's that there are so many more stories left to tell within it, especially with this version of Superman. While the DCEU Batman is deliberately framed at the end of his career, and the leaked Justice League 2 storyboards showed he was supposed to die as part of the conclusion of the "Knightmare" storyline, Superman is still learning what it means to be an icon.
Audiences need to see him take on the likes of Brainiac and even Darkseid if possible while dealing with the fallout from the previous movies.
Standalone: A Break From The Divisive Snyderverse
Whether you love or loathe Zack Snyder's DC movies - Man of Steel, Batman V Superman, and Zack Snyder's Justice League - it's impossible to deny that they have been divisive. While fans will defend them to the hilt, they're certainly not for everyone, which is part of the reason Warner Bros made such an effort to retool Justice League into something more crowd-pleasing.
That mostly failed, but a fresh Superman movie with a new writer/director team in a brand new continuity might be a chance to make something that appeals to a wider audience.
DCEU: Supergirl Needs A Mentor
Last month it was revealed that the DCEU's Supergirl had been cast after many years of rumors, and The Young and the Restless actor Sasha Calle will be playing Kara Zor-El. Her first (and presumably not her last) appearance will be in next year's The Flash, where she will star alongside Ezra Miller's Barry Allen and both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck as Batman.
Notable by his absence is Henry Cavill's Superman, as it would've made sense for him to appear as a mentor figure for his Kryptonian cousin. If Cavill returns for another Superman movie he might have a chance to do just that.
Standalone: There's No Reason The DCEU Can't Continue
One of the biggest concerns fans have about the idea of Henry Cavill being replaced as Superman, and the next movie potentially being separate from the DCEU, is the suggestion that Cavill's Superman won't get to appear in any further DC movies if it happens. This is patently untrue.
As both Joker and The Batman prove, Warner Bros is quite content to allow more than one version of a character to appear in movies and TV shows, and the DCEU can continue with Henry Cavill's Superman if they need him, even if there's a new standalone Superman movie happening at the same time.
DCEU: The Amazing Spider-Man Effect
In terms of audience anticipation, perhaps the biggest problem with releasing a standalone Superman movie in its own separate universe is that by and large audiences don't take very kindly to reboots and fresh origin storylines coming too soon after the last one.
The DCEU is essentially all spun out of Man of Steel, so it doesn't matter so much if Batman gets a separate movie, but a standalone Superman reboot coming so soon after Zack Snyder's Justice League (and not that long after Man of Steel) raises too many comparisons to The Amazing Spider-Man, which audiences were very negative about regarding how quickly it arrived after Spider-Man 3.
Standalone: The Batman Is Greatly Anticipated
Matt Reeves' The Batman reboot coming next year is the best argument for the new Superman movie to be standalone. Currently, the first teaser trailer for The Batman has around 30 million views on Warner Bros' YouTube channel, and even though it's still a year away fans are greatly anticipating it.
This is despite both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton reportedly appearing in The Flash DCEU movie, which should also come out in 2022. DCEU fans aren't angry that The Batman is a standalone movie, in fact, they're completely in support of it.
DCEU: Zack Snyder's Justice League Is Getting A Lot Of Attention
After Justice League flopped in 2017 it seemed very easy for Warner Bros to essentially make Henry Cavill's Superman a scapegoat, fuelling rumors towards a Supergirl movie and providing no news on Man of Steel 2. Now, however, the tables have turned, and what should have just been a bone for fans to persuade them to subscribe to HBO Max has basically turned into a phenomenon.
Zack Snyder's Justice League is getting a lot of attention and in particular, the return of Cavill's Superman in the black solar suit. It would therefore be wise for Warner Bros to capitalize on this sudden surge of popularity and confirm Henry Cavill's return for the next Superman movie.