In 2022, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson—who fancied changing the hierarchy of power in the DCEU by taking it over—brought Henry Cavill back as Superman for Black Adam's post-credit scene.
Warner Bros. executives went with it, and even after the movie bombed, the studio intended to develop Man of Steel 2. Cavill even shot a cameo for The Flash; the plan was for Superman, Supergirl, and Michael Keaton's Batman to confront Barry Allen, setting the stage for a Crisis on Infinite Earths movie revolving around them attempting to rescue Ben Affleck's Dark Knight.
When James Gunn was hired as DC Studios co-CEO, he decided that Cavill wasn't a good fit for his Superman movie and dropped the actor from the role shortly after he'd publicly announced his grand return.
It was a moment of heartbreak for the actor and his fans, and Gunn inadvertently rubbed salt in the wound by bringing back DCEU stars such as John Cena, Steve Agee, and his wife, Jennifer Holland, for his new DCU. Understandably, frustrated fans asked why the Peacemaker cast deserved a second chance while Cavill didn't.
Following this week's big DC Studios leadership change, Inverse caught up with Cavill and asked whether he would be open to returning as Superman.
"Look, there's lots of fantastic storylines. There's always a lot of opportunity," the British actor mused. "As the pigeon sang to Fievel in An American Tail, 'never say never.' And I buy into that. I’ve had such a wonderful time playing Superman in the past. I would never say never now."
Asked whether becoming a father has changed his feelings about having played the iconic hero, Cavill replied:
"It’s funny you bring that up. Sometimes people send my daughter Superman stuff as a joke. Just the other day, we opened this Superman toy, and she looked at it and said, 'It’s Dada!' She’s only 2 years and 4 months, so no idea how she knows that’s me; what kind of cosmic connection that was. But it really touched my heart in a special way, because obviously playing Superman was such an honor."
"I’ve met so many young people throughout my tenure [as Superman], and it was always very touching to be able to be Superman for them and have parents handing them over and saying, 'It’s Superman.' But when it was with my own daughter — and she still doesn’t know who Superman is — that moment brought it to such a wonderful point. It really brought it home to me, and it really, really, really warmed my heart. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have that opportunity and to have had that experience of her looking at that Superman toy."
Unless new DC Studios CEO Jeremy Latcham's plan is to "#RestoreTheSnyderVerse," it doesn't seem likely that Cavill would be asked to return. Skydance has a Superman in David Corenswet, though how interested he'll be in continuing without Gunn calling the shots remains to be seen.
We also still don't know whether Latcham will reboot the DCU or attempt to continue where his predecessor left off, though recent reports suggest he may attempt to simply start over.