It looks like Superman’s been administered a healthy dose of kryptonite, as just weeks after announcing his return to the role, Hollywood star Henry Cavill has been dropped from it.
Guardians of the Galaxy director and DC Studio’s new co-chairman, James Gunn, will not cast Cavill in the new Superman movie that he is writing.
Cavill has played Superman in films including Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman. He last portrayed the character in a cameo role in Black Adam earlier this year.
The new Superman film, written by Gunn and Peter Safran, will take the character in a new and different direction and is mainly going to focus on the superhero’s younger years.
The information came as a blow to Cavill, as he said it was “not the easiest news” after he only recently announced that he would be returning to the role.
The announcement comes as one of the changes made by DC studios and parent company Werner Brothers, which has been dropping scores of projects to cut costs after merging with Discovery.
In October, after resigning from the lead role in Netflix show The Witcher, Cavill announced he would be returning to play Superman again.
Prior to the news, on Monday, Cavill wrote on Instagram in a lengthy post that Gunn and his co- chair Peter Safran had met with him to deliver the news. “I will, after all, not be returning as Superman,” Cavill wrote.
“After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life,” he wrote.
He went on to say that the changing of the guard is something that happens. He respects that. James and Peter have a universe to build, he said. He wished them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes.
Fans might want to “mourn for a bit”, he wrote, but “Superman is still around”.
“My turn to wear the cape has passed, but what Superman stands for never will. It’s been a fun ride with you all; onwards and upwards,” he concluded.
Gunn has long been in the running to make a Superman film: in 2018, when Gunn left Marvel Studios for DC when he was temporarily fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, then- Warners boss Toby Emmerich pushed for Gunn to take on Superman. Gunn wrote and directed The Suicide Squad instead.
Compiled by Mashudu Mabila
Pictured Above: @henry_cavil/Twitter
Image Source: TheGuardian.com
