In a late-night stunner, Deadline is reporting that Henry Cavill (Mission: Impossible - Fallout; The Witcher) is currently in talks with Warner Bros. to reprise his fan-favorite role as Superman in the studio's retooled live-action DC cinematic universe.
However, while common sense would point to the actor donning the cape for a Man of Steel sequel, the trade notes that a standalone follow-up to the 2013 Zack Snyder-directed feature is not in any stage of development and that they intend on bringing him back in a different capacity, presumably for an extended role in another upcoming DC adventure.
Both Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 1984 and James Gunn's The Suicide Squad have already wrapped, so don't expect him to pop up in either of those, and DHD sources have confirmed that he's not slated to make a cameo in Matt Reeves' upcoming The Batman. This leaves the door open for a number of DC projects that have yet to roll cameras, including David F. Sandberg's Shazam! sequel starring Zachary Levi, Jaume Collet-Serra's Black Adam starring Dwayne Johnson, and James Wan's Aquaman sequel starring Jason Momoa.
While we'll undoubtedly learn more about his potential return in the coming months, fans will get to see his Superman again relatively soon when Zack Snyder's Justice League hits HBO Max next year. The extent of his role is uncertain, but it's expected to be more substantial than what we saw of the Man of Steel in the theatrical version.
The "Snyder Cut" is expected to begin post-production pretty soon, and will cost WB upwards of $30 million to complete, according to recent reports.