No one would have blamed Henry Cavill for quitting the DC Extended Universe after Justice League. Warner Bros., rushing to get the movie into theaters, made a joke out of the actor by giving him a CG jawline and his Man of Tomorrow hasn't been seen since.
Of course, [SPOILER ALERT] that's all changed with Black Adam, and new details are starting to surface online about why the studio seemed so reluctant to bring Cavill back as the DC mascot. We've previously heard that money may have been behind him not appearing in Shazam!, and it does appear that was the issue.
According to The Post-Geek Singularity, Cavill's manager - who also works with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - pointed out to studio bosses that a cameo role would have served as one of the actor's contractually obligated appearances.
As a result, Cavill obviously wanted to be compensated appropriately, but former Warner Bros. Chairman Toby Emmerich didn't agree. Apparently, the executive said at the time that "'Henry Cavill is now persona non grata, he’s not gonna play ball with the studio? He will never be Superman again.'"
That seemingly trickled down through the rest of Warner Bros., as we recently heard ex-DC Films boss Walter Hamada similarly tried to block Cavill from playing Superman in Black Adam.
Now, they're both gone, and the door is open to more Man of Steel on screen. Cavill only signed a one-off deal for Black Adam's post-credits scene, so his DCEU future remains somewhat up in the air. The new regime at Warner Bros. Discovery is said to be keen on bringing him back for supporting roles and a solo outing, likely in an effort to appease fans who have grown disillusioned with the struggling franchise.
Hamada had been overseeing an HBO Max series revolving around the Calvin Ellis version of Superman, while he'd also turned to J.J. Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates for a movie featuring a Black Kal-El arriving on Earth in a period setting (likely the 1930s). The expectation at the moment is that neither project is a priority.
Keep checking back here for updates on Superman.