Following the release of Justice League in 2017, it started looking unlikely that Henry Cavill would return to the DC Extended Universe as Superman. A body double was used for the character's cameo in Shazam!, and there were reports that he and Warner Bros. had reached an impasse over money.
Last month, though, we learned that Cavill is reportedly in talks to return as the Man of Steel for a series of cameo and supporting roles rather than another standalone movie for the iconic superhero.
The English actor didn't have anything to say about that during a recent interview with Variety, but did talk about wanting to continuing playing Superman moving forward.
"I’ve always been a fan of Superman," he said. "With a character like that, you carry the mantle with you off set. And it becomes part of your public representation."
"When you meet children, children don’t necessarily see me as Henry Cavill, but they might see Superman, and there’s a responsibility which comes with that. Because it’s such a wonderful character, it’s actually a responsibility I’m happy to have, and I hope that I get to play more of Superman in years to come," Cavill concluded, teasing his possible future as the hero.
"My life has changed dramatically because of it," he added when talk turned to what Superman has come to mean to him. "And it has given me plenty of opportunity for roles, and yeah, it’s been one of those characters which changed the entire course of my career. I’m incredibly grateful for it, and it’s also taught me a lot about myself."
"He’s so good, he’s so kind, and when you start to compare yourself to him, because you’re playing him, you start to really look inwards. You say, ‘Am I a good person? Can I be a good enough person to play Superman?’ And if you ever hear a whisper in there which is like, ‘Hmm, hold on a second. Maybe not,” then you adjust it, and you make sure you are a better person. I think that’s all we can do in life."
Inspiring words which, quite frankly, sound like they're coming directly from Superman.
Time will tell what comes next for Cavill as the character, but the hope is that we will see more of him in the DCEU. Until then, we can look forward to seeing him play a larger part in Zack Snyder's Justice League.