Despite reliable sources indicating that Henry Cavill's return to the role of Clark Kent/Superman was only a matter of time, it sounds like the actor getting the opportunity to take to the skies as the iconic DC Comics hero again was far from a sure thing.
After playing the character in Man of Steel, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League (he also filmed some additional scenes for Zack Snyder's director's cut), Cavill stepped away from the DCEU DCU to work on other projects.
It was looking increasingly likely that he might be done with the role altogether, until we got word that his take on the Man of Tomorrow was set to show up in Black Adam's mid-credits scene.
“As an actor, you have to learn that there are things out of your control, no matter what you may think, no matter how your performance was, no matter what factors were not in your control in the first place, no matter how the audience feels,” Cavill explains to Deadline as part of The Film That Lit My Fuse video series. “It was something which I had to very gently hold onto in my heart, because I didn’t know whether I would have the opportunity to play it again. [But] the opportunity was very important to get again, and I’m very, very lucky and feel very privileged to have that opportunity now.”
Cavill is expected to lead another solo movie (Man of Steel 2, essentially), and a clash with Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam is also on the cards. The Witcher star has previously spoken about what version of the hero he hopes to bring to the screen this time, and reiterates that he wants his Superman to serve as an inspiration above all else.
“There’s something so true and honest and hopeful, which is the best of all of us, and I love that,” he added. ”I think it’s the thing which we all truly yearn for, deep, deep down, which is goodness, and everyone else being good, and good to one another, and helping one another. Even at our most cynical, I think that deep down, that’s what we want.”
These type of comments seem designed to distance himself from his previous incarnation of Superman, who many considered to be a little too dark and cynical. Then again, others welcomed a slightly "grittier" take on the character after the Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve era.
Are you down for a lighter interpretation of Superman in the DCU going forward, or would you rather Cavill just picked up where he left off?