Henry Cavill's relationship with Warner Bros. seemingly soured after 2017's Justice League, and while the actor has shared his hopes to return as Superman, the studio appeared to feel differently.
Over the past couple of years, we've seen them move forward with projects revolving around different versions of the Man of Tomorrow, while The Flash is set to retell the events of Man of Steel, replacing Superman with Sasha Calle's Supergirl in the DCEU. However, that all changes with Black Adam as Cavill appears as the hero in an unmissable mid-credits scene.
Dwayne Johnson has taken credit for making it happen, suggesting Walter Hamada may have been the one looking to move on from Cavill. The actor has since teased future stories with his anti-hero and DC Comics' most iconic superhero, but it may be a mistake to get too excited.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "[Cavill] made a one-off deal" for Black Adam, though they note that "the studio is definitely interested in more from the star (including a solo outing)."
This lines up with what we've been hearing from other, less reliable sources. Still, with nothing set in stone beyond this cameo, we should know better than to put the cart before the horse when it comes to Cavill's future as Superman.
Rumour has it that money was a contributing factor when it came to Cavill turning down that Shazam! cameo. While the Warner Bros. Discovery regime may not replace him with a headless stuntman, there's no guarantee both sites will reach a deal everyone is happy with.
We're definitely optimistic that more of Cavill's Superman is in the DCEU's future, though, and it's a positive sign that the studio wants more. Still, any talk of the hero being a focal point of future stories might be premature as it's clear nothing is set in stone right now.