For a time, it looked like Henry Cavill’s days as Superman were over. Then, against all odds, a glimmer of hope arrived when the actor made a surprise return in Black Adam’s post-credit scene. This was followed by an announcement that he was officially back. Fans celebrated. But the celebration was short-lived. When James Gunn and Peter Safran stepped in to lead DC Studios, they made the decision to recast the role, bringing Cavill’s comeback to an abrupt end.
While speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn recalled the “terrible” moment when they had to tell Cavill that they would be recasting the role.
“We sat down with Henry … It’s terrible,” Gunn said. “We came in and that was really unfortunate. I’m like, this poor guy. Peter and I— the right thing to do is sit down with him and talk to him. We sat down, we talked to him. He was an absolute gentleman, a great guy about it. He said, ‘The only thing I ask is that I’m able to reveal it myself as opposed to coming from you guys.’“
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As for how the premature casting announcement happened in the first place, it seemed there was a lack of communication at Warner Bros. “We were dealing with trying to figure out if we could take the job at DC Studios and we’re talking to David Zaslav and all the legal people there and figuring out what our deals would be,” Gunn explained. “And the day our deal closed, all of a sudden they were announcing that Henry was back and I’m like, ‘What is going on? We know what the plan is,’ and [it] was a total bummer. But there was a vacuum at the time.“
While I would have loved to have seen more of Henry Cavill as Superman, that time has passed as the brand-new (ish) DC Universe has officially arrived. James Gunn’s Superman is now playing in theaters, so be sure to check out the (very different) reviews from our own Chris Bumbray and Tyler Nichols, and don’t forget to let us know what you thought of the film as well!
Source:
Happy Sad Confused podcast