Superman is arguably the world's most iconic superhero, but the DC Comics character hasn't starred in his own movie since 2013. That was, of course, Man of Steel, and while he'd later take centre stage in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, it's now been half a decade since we've seen Henry Cavill's Clark Kent on screen.
Zack Snyder's Justice League offered us a glimpse at what might have been, of course, but whether it's faceless cameos, planned reboots, or pretty much everything about The Flash, Warner Bros. has done a massive disservice to this Superman.
With a so-called 10-year plan now being put in place for the DCEU by Warner Bros. Discovery, we're looking back at how the studio has completely failed Cavill's Man of Tomorrow. You might think the future looks brighter for this franchise, but there's currently no indication that things will get better for Superman, particularly if the past decade or so is any indication.
To take a look through this breakdown, all you guys need to do is hit the "Next" button below!
7. Justice League's Reshoots
While we understand Warner Bros.' decision to enlist The Avengers director Joss Whedon to "fix" Justice League, you'd think Henry Cavill had personally wronged execs for what they did to him back in 2017. Appalling visual effects were used to remove his Mission: Impossible - Fallout facial hair during reshoots, turning the actor into a laughing stock.
We can appreciate that this can't have been an easy task for those hard-working VFX teams, but it looked comically bad.
Cavill went from having a blatantly fake mouth in some scenes to a creepy, Joker-like smile in others, and it's impossible to figure out why the studio would release Justice League in this state. It's no wonder the actor soured on the DCEU after this, and there must have been a better solution to the moustache problem.
6. Shazam's Headless Cameo
There are conflicting reports about why Cavill didn't return as Superman in Shazam!, with some claiming it was down to scheduling conflicts, and others believing the studio didn't offer the actor enough money. Both are valid reasons for the Man of Steel not appearing in the 2019 blockbuster, but the decision was made to include him anyway.
Well, minus his head.
Warner Bros. opted to have a body double don Superman's costume for a pointless, borderline baffling cameo, driving home to the actor that he's of no real value to them. Can't make it to the Shazam! set for a cameo? That's fine, they'll just throw your character in and hide his face. Cavill must have been incensed to see his Man of Tomorrow utilised in such a manner.
5. Planning Superman Projects Without Cavill
Cavill has repeatedly expressed an interest in playing Superman again, but that hasn't stopped Warner Bros. from very publicly forging ahead with movies that don't include him. Yes, there's a chance he doesn't want to make Man of Steel 2, but this can't have helped matters.
First, there's J.J. Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates' Superman reboot that would likely take place in a period setting with a Superman who is Black. It's an awesome concept, in fairness, as is Michael B. Jordan's plan to tell Calvin Ellis' story on HBO Max. Both signal Warner Bros.' plans to move on from Cavill, as does talk of a Supergirl movie (we'll get to that).
The Multiverse means all of these stories should be able to coexist, but the fact the studio forged ahead with these and left Cavill sitting at home...well, that wasn't their smartest move.
4. Not Committing To Snyder's Vision
We know that Zack Snyder's contributions to the DCEU are divisive, but had Warner Bros. committed to what he had planned, we'd at least have got a proper beginning, middle, and end to this Superman's story.
While the hero would have briefly fallen under Darkseid's spell, time travel would have seen Kal-El redeemed and responsible for putting that seemingly unstoppable villain down once and for all. We appreciated Joss Whedon's more hopeful take on the character, but it came out of nowhere and robbed us of what could have been a great run for Cavill as this character.
Rather than panicking when Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad opened to negative reviews, all Warner Bros. needed to do was reign the filmmaker in a little and stop him from spending so much money. Instead, we had to suffer through all that only toxicity and no Supes on screen.
3. No Man Of Steel 2
Man of Steel was released in 2013, and while Batman v Superman was obviously the sequel to that (with Justice League continuing the story), it's mind-blowing to us that Warner Bros. never made another solo outing a priority.
Despite some controversial creative decisions in the final act, the reboot was a critical and commercial success. The studio could have easily found a way to continue this character's story outside of Snyder's larger plans, particularly as there were gaps that could have been filled in between Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
Even looking beyond that, how have we gone five years without Cavill's Superman appearing in, not just any movie, but his own? Yes, the pandemic kind of wipes at least a couple of those out, but we can't imagine there wasn't a way to get a great writer and director to tackle a new Superman story since 2017.
2. If This Superman Isn't Coming Back, Why Not Recast?
We're changing tact for a moment here as this is related to Superman as a whole rather than Cavill's interpretation, in particular. It's been half a decade since Justice League was released, and the world's most iconic superhero has sat gathering dust on the shelf ever since.
Yes, we've seen him on The CW and in various faceless cameos (Shazam! and Peacemaker). However, in that time, Warner Bros. has managed to make The Batman despite all those behind-the-scenes changes following Ben Affleck's departure as star and director. With that in mind, there's really no excuse for not finding a way to do this hero justice.
Obviously, we've mentioned a couple of Superman projects that Warner Bros. has tried making, but neither are close to becoming a reality and sound more like ideas thrown at the wall to see what will stick more than anything else. It's a travesty.
1. Replacing Him With Supergirl In The Flash - SPOILER Warning!
We're as excited as anyone to see what Sasha Calle brings to the table as Supergirl in The Flash, but this might just be the ultimate slap in the face to Cavill. The movie isn't just introducing Superman's cousin; it's replacing him with her, retelling the events of Man of Steel from her point of view and revealing Kal-El died before arriving on Earth.
This is clearly Warner Bros.' way of getting rid of Cavill and the DCEU's Superman, likely because they plan to focus on a version of the character who exists in his own reality (similar to Robert Pattinson's Caped Crusader).
It's beyond disappointing, and we have to believe the backlash to this decision will be vocal. It also promises to overshadow Calle's debut as Supergirl, a real shame when everything we've seen of her looks damn near perfect.