Henry Cavill Dropped Out of ‘Superman’ Two Months After Announcing Return

Henry Cavill was dropped from the role of Superman just two months after the announcement of his “official” return to the iconic character.

Cavill revealed today that he had a meeting with new DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran and that it was “sad news.” Gunn is writing a script for a Superman movie that will focus on a younger version of the character.

The British actor wrote on social media: “At the end of the day, I will not be returning as Superman. After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October before they were hired [of Gunn and Safran]this news is not the easiest, but that’s life.

“Changing of the guard is what happens. I respect it. James and Peter have to build an entire universe. I wish them and everyone involved with the new universes good luck and happiness.

“For those who have been by my side over the years…we may mourn a little, but then we must remember…Superman is still there. Everything he stands for still exists and the examples he sets for us still exist!

“My turn to wear the cape is over, but what Superman represents will never go away. It’s been a fun ride with all of you, on and on.”

Gunn tweeted: “Peter and I have a DC tablet ready which we are very excited about; we will be able to share interesting information about our first projects at the beginning of the new year.

“Among those on the board is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will focus on the early part of Superman’s life, so this character will not be played by Henry Cavill.

“But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we’ve discussed a number of exciting opportunities to work together in the future.”

Gunn also revealed that he and Safran met with Ben Affleck yesterday: “He wants to direct and we want him to direct, we just need to find the right project.”

Affleck joined the DC Extended Universe as Batman under director Zack Snyder and was scheduled to write, direct and star in his own standalone film, Caped Crusader. But he eventually dropped out and the project turned into Batmanstarring Robert Pattinson and directed by Matt Reeves.

Cavill’s sacking as Superman comes at a particularly awkward time for the actor, who recently turned down his lead role in the Netflix series. Witcher after the completion of three seasons. He will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth.

At the time it was announced, it was speculated that at least part of the reason was that Cavill’s return to the on-screen DC superhero universe was to keep him busy.

Cavill hasn’t donned Superman’s famous cape since the 2017 movie. Justice League but just returned to make a mid-credits cameo in a Dwayne Johnson film. Black Adam.

Johnson said he actively lobbied for Cavill’s return as Superman, and the studio bosses eventually capitulated. In the comics, Superman and Black Adam are traditional rivals, and the idea was to set up future clashes between the two superpowered beings.

Cavill has two more upcoming projects, films by Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn.

Cavill’s departure is part of a wave of changes at DC that saw a change of leadership with Gunn and Safran, who were brought in to create and oversee the studio’s holistic vision for the next 10 years.

Director Gunn and producer Safran have previously worked with DC – Gunn on Suicide Squad film with Margot Robbie and Idris Elba and peacemaker TV spin-off with Safran as producer Aquaman, Aquaman 2, Shazam, Shazam: Fury of the Gods as well as Suicide Squad.

However, Gunn is best known for his films for rival Marvel studios. guardians of the galaxy trilogy.

Ever since Gunn and Safran took over in recent weeks, the studio has been in chaos with rumors, speculation and leaks about changes coming in the future.

It was confirmed last week Wonder Woman 3 would not go further. Director Patty Jenkins issued a social media statement this week to dismiss claims that she had left, claiming she was ready to work within Gunn and Safran’s new vision, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Jenkins wrote: “I never left. I was open to any questions asked of me. As far as I understood, there was nothing I could do to move forward at this time.

“Obviously DC is mired in the allegations they have to make, so I understand these decisions are difficult right now.”

Jenkins paid tribute amazing woman star Gal Gadot, as well as Linda Carter, who played the character in the 1970s series.

Gunn himself had to release a statement on Twitter on social media last week after industry trades ran stories that everything in Washington was potentially on the cutting board, most notably characters from Zack Snyder films, including Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Ezra Miller as Flash.

He wrote: “So. As for yesterday’s story in Hollywood Reportersome of it is true, some is half true, some is not true, and some we haven’t decided yet whether it’s true or not.

“While this first month in Washington has been fruitful, creating the next 10 years of history takes time and we are still just getting started.

“Peter and I decided to lead DC Studios knowing that we were in a controversial environment, both in the stories we tell and in the audience itself, and there would be an inevitable transition period as we transitioned to telling a coherent story in films, on television, in animation. and games.

“But in the end, the shortcomings of that transition period were eclipsed by creativity and opportunities to take what had worked so far in DC and help fix what hadn’t.

“We know we’re not going to make every person happy every step of the way, but we can promise that everything we do is in the service of history and in the service of the DC characters we know and cherish. all our lives.”

Nearly a decade after Man of Steelthe success of DC films has been fickle compared to Marvel, which is a well-oiled machine under boss Kevin Feige.

Warner Bros has changed several studio executives for DC’s release, each marked by some controversy, while the creative vision laid out by Snyder has been divisive.