James Gunn remembers admits to feeling “terrible” telling Henry Cavill that he’d have to give up Superman
While the latest version of the Man of Steel might be ushering in a new and promising era for the DC Universe, James Gunn recently spoke out about the monumental mix-up that was made near the end of the previous one, which saw Henry Cavill briefly return as Superman, only to take off the cape for good.
Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the new co-head of DC Studios recalled the uncomfortable chain of events that led him to break the bad news to the star, even after he’d been seen flying into the post-credit scene of Black Adam. By this point, the Guardians of the Galaxy director was already working on his version of Superman, and unfortunately, Cavill wasn’t it.
“It’s terrible. Believe it or not, the day we were dealing with trying to figure out if we could take the job at DC Studios, the day the deal closed, all of a sudden, they were announcing that Henry was back,” explained the Superman director. Gunn had run into creative kryptonite, without even knowing it. “And I was like, ‘What is going on? We know what the plan is. The plan was to come in and do Superman. It was really unfair to him and a total bummer.”
Gunn’s assessment of the situation is that he attributes it to the DC franchise desperately trying to go in one direction, even after it was confirmed that it was no longer on that route. “There was a vacuum at the time, and a lot of people were… They had a take on what they wanted to do at DC, and they were trying to force their way, and it was just never part of the equation for [WBD CEO] David Zaslav,” explained Gunn. “We came in, and that was really unfortunate. I’m like, ‘This poor guy.’” Thankfully, Cavill took the new change-up on the chin and was focused on putting the fans first in the recent changing of the guard.
“He was an absolute gentleman and a great guy about it,” Gunn recalled. “He said, ‘The only thing I ask is that I’m able to reveal it myself as opposed to coming from you guys.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s a class act.’”
But while Cavill might’ve passed the S-shield over to David Corenswet as the new Last Son of Krypton, Gunn wouldn’t rule out putting the former Superman in a brand new role in the DCU. “I talked to him about it on that day. I would love to put Henry in something.” Who knows, then? There might be a place where a favorite Superman returns, just in another costume. For now, see where Cavill and Corenswet’s take on the Man of Tomorrow ranks in our list of Superman movies here.
