Introduction
2019 has started off as a promising year for the DCEU; Aquaman has become the highest grossing movie of the franchise with a whopping worldwide profit of $1.077bn as of time of writing, the upcoming Shazam and Joker movies look set to be major hits with both fans and general moviegoers alike and more and more movies like Plastic Man and Zatanna are announced to be in development. After a difficult start, the DCEU is starting to thrive in a sea of wealth, both commercially and metaphorically and now fans like me are looking to the future. However, there are still certain issues within the DCEU that need correcting in order to ensure that the franchise survives in terms of fame and profits, most predominantly whether or not Henry Cavill will return as Superman.
When Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel was first released in 2013, Henry Cavill’s Superman became the first hero of the franchise and its main lead up until now. Despite the poor reviews of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, Henry Cavill’s Superman remained widely popular among fans, so much so that the demand for a sequel to the divisive Man of Steel is still high, and his departure or indefinite absence will have a greatly damaging impact upon the DCEU as a result of his popularity and fixed position in the franchise as its main protagonist. The best way for Warner Bros. to deal with this issue however, is to bring back the villainess Faora from her imprisonment in the Phantom Zone at the end of Man of Steel, played by Antje Traue, reintroduce her to the franchise in the next Justice League movie or any other upcoming DCEU movie, set her onto a redemptive arc and carry on Superman’s legacy as the new Superwoman. Here's why;
1.) Connectivity to the first movie
In every major entertainment property and shared universe, what the most successful ones tend to have in common is one clear and consistent lead protagonist from the very beginning to the end. In The Walking Dead, that lead protagonist for nine years was Rick Grimes until his recent departure last year, a shocking twist that has upset several diehard fans of the show to the point that they cannot bring themselves to watch it again without Officer Friendly himself. Though Game of Thrones has no explicitly standalone protagonist and acts as an ensemble show, its core lead heroes such as Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen from the first season have remained as the main focus. Finally, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark has more or less remained the main lead in all of the Avengers movies and maintained a strong presence in most of the franchise’s other movies. All three of these franchises are incredibly popular among millions of people across the world today which can largely be attributed to having a strong lead protagonist, one who remains in the franchise from the very beginning, evolves and grows and assures fans that their beloved series will neither never drastically change in its quality or overall plot.
Some readers may at this point be asking ‘why can’t someone Wonder Woman or Aquaman become the new leads of the DCEU?’ and indeed this would be a reasonable question to ask. However, the point that I am trying to make is that franchises that either do not have a consistent lead or a lead from the very beginning tend to collapse, something which Warner Bros. must recognise with regards to Man of Steel and the greater DCEU. Though Man of Steel was not the most critically acclaimed or successful movie in the DCEU, it was nevertheless essential in setting the overall narrative and tone of the franchise, with Cavill’s Superman and the Kryptonians taking a central stage role at the beginning of this franchise. Removing these characters from the DCEU right now with little to no explanation or future references whatsoever would be like the Marvel Cinematic Universe retiring Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark after Iron Man 3 and all of his supporting characters like Pepper and Rhodey; whilst the Marvel franchise would’ve survived the departures of these characters, it nevertheless would’ve hurt their brand a grand deal both going forward as if the shared universe was like a ship that had just lost its captain after just leaving port.
With these reasons understood, Warner Bros. need a major character from the first Man of Steel movie to replace Cavill’s Superman as a leading character with a powerful presence in the franchise. Practically, this can only be one of two characters; Antje Traue’s Faora or Amy Adams’ Lois Lane, the latter having no superpowers and played by an actress in greater demand for movie roles than the former.
The loss of Henry Cavill’s Superman to the DCEU may at first lead one to safely presume that there will never be any more Superman movies or other movies related to members of DC’s Super-Family in general. Whilst this may not seem as a major matter for those who aren’t fans of Superman or his supporting characters, this would be a gross misjudgement when one realises that most other superheroes in DC Comics do not have as extensive a rogues gallery as the likes of Superman and Batman. Indeed, whilst it is good news to know that Warner Bros. are interested in making movies for lesser known heroes like Blue Beetle and Plastic Man, these characters don’t have enough of a rogues gallery to be able to build their own standalone movies around, or even a supporting cast of characters to help flesh out their character development or plot. Although Warner Bros. could allow future directors of these movies to create their own original supporting characters and villains, this likely would not be popular with most comic-book fans and an incredibly risky move. In contrast, a much safer and more sensible alternative would be to make a movie franchise within the DCEU centred on a member of the Super-Family, in this case Faora as Superwoman.
Fortunately for Warner Bros., there are several members of the Super-Family from which to centre a movie upon, such as Steel and Supergirl, the latter having been rumoured to appear in the upcoming Suicide Squad 2 before then being confirmed to have her own standalone movie in development. However, the purpose of this editorial is to put forward the argument in favour of Faora being reintroduced to the DCEU as Superwoman, something which does not prevent Warner Bros. from developing movies for other members of the Super-Family. In the longer term, it may be wiser for Warner Bros. to reintroduce Faora and then give her own movie as Superwoman before then moving on to someone like Supergirl, as it would ensure that the Super-Family property remained more relevant and well-known among fans with an already established character in the universe before suddenly revealing that Supergirl exists in this franchise just as we say an unofficial goodbye to Superman. As a Superwoman movie could also be filmed on a lower budget to the other DCEU movies and also work upon the previous lore and themes established in Man of Steel and Justice League, this would help Warner Bros. to metaphorically test the waters among moviegoers to determine whether or not the majority of people would be interested in a movie based on a female member of the Super-Family without having to spend greater sums of money in casting and production a bigger budget movie for a bigger name hero like Supergirl.
Rather than risk wasting greater sums of money on smaller name superheroes or a Supergirl movie with a character who hasn’t yet been established or introduced to the DCEU, and may appear too much as a bit of an awkward Mary-Sue with Superman’s sudden departure, it would be much safer for Warner Bros. to first reintroduce Faora in a future Man of Steel sequel or Justice League sequel, set her upon a redemption arc, conclude with her becoming Superwoman and then look to reception from critics and fans alike to see whether or not such a character would be as popular and successful as the likes of Wonder Woman and Aquaman currently are.
Whenever I read rumours that Warner Bros. are allegedly considering recasting Henry Cavill’s Superman with a new actor, most recently Black Panther’s Michael B. Jordan, it frustrates me so much as not only would it make little narrative sense within the DCEU, but it would be a monumentally degrading insult to Henry Cavill, who has been an outstanding Superman for the past five years and has dedicated so much of his life and career to this character who he cares so much about. It would also be a particularly disastrous move given that Cavill himself has spoken of how passionate he is about the Superman character and wishes to return to the role someday once he and Warner Bros. fix their differences, which would be impossible if Superman was recast with a different actor. Instead, a better solution in the meantime to ensure that the Super-Family remain relevant and popular on the big-screen whilst also providing the DCEU with an alternative strong and already established lead to act in Henry Cavill’s place would be to bring back Antje Traue’s Faora.
If Faora was also to return to the DCEU and redeem herself as a heroic Superwoman, it would also help in progressing the story-arcs of her and Superman. Clark Kent began his journey in the DCEU from a soul-searching refugee to the legendary superhero we know today through hardships and the constant battle of trying to maintain hope for the future. Man of Steel was a particular challenge against that hope when the last remnants of Krypton fought against Clark and refused to change who they were as individuals and coexist in peace with humans, something which seemingly ended with the demise of Kal-El’s entire civilisation. Not only did this have a damaging effect on Superman’s morale and his life going forward, but it led him to question whether people could truly change or become better people; if Faora, the second last Kryptonian known to exist in this universe, were to return, reform, wear the House of El emblem and save humans just as Superman has, it would reassure him that his people could have a future on Earth and that their truly was hope for everyone. Having Faora return as a reformed hero would resolve several plotlines in the franchise and also provide a satisfying enough temporary ending for Cavill’s Superman without requiring him to even appear.
Replacing Cavill’s Superman in the DCEU isn’t an easy task, but of all the possible characters that could and should do it, Faora is the best Super-Family related candidate to do so and it would also be one that would deepen the franchise’s lore, make the overall story much more enriched and give a heart-warming conclusion to Superman and Faora’s character arcs.
Antje Traue’s Faora may not be one of the most acclaimed or memorable characters in the DCEU, but she was undoubtedly widely popular among fans in her debut, a powerful character and one Zack Snyder obviously had future plans for later in the franchise. The parting of Henry Cavill’s Superman would be a gigantic loss to the DCEU, both symbolically and financially in later movie instalments, especially when the DCEU has only just begun. This could be turned into a beneficial turning plot-point, however, if Cavill’s Superman was temporarily written out of the franchise and replaced with a reformed Faora as Superwoman, as it would act as a refresher for the franchise, bring back a fan-favourite character with wide potential for future character growth, allow Cavill the possibility of eventually returning as Superman without being recast, keep the Super-Family property popular and financially successful on the big-screen and maintain strong consistency throughout the franchise from its very first movie with a major character who debuted in said movie and can serve as an acting, and potentially permanent, new lead for the DCEU.
Ultimately, Faora was once a major character in the DCEU with the potential to return; Cavill’s unofficial departure from the DCEU as Superman opens the perfect opportunity for Faora to return in terms of commercial convenience and narrative logic and ensure that the DCEU can continue with movies based on the Super-Family.
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