During a new interview with Patrick Stewart for Variety's "Actors on Actors" issue, Henry Cavill reiterated a desire to hold onto his Superman role for the foreseeable future, echoing comments he made on the same topic in a Men's Health interview last year.
“I’ve always been a fan of Superman,” Cavill said of DC's flagship hero (...if Batman were to die). “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.”
Note the marked change from how things were looking on that front just a year and a half ago.
“My life has changed dramatically because of it,” Cavill added. “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.”
Asked by Stewart for elaboration on that last bit, re: learning about himself, Cavill said he was just trying to live up to the Boy-Scout-esque ideals of the character. “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,” Cavill said. “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.”
As with all things DC these days, the subject of "the Snyder Cut" came up. Stewart asked Cavill what he could reveal about it. The answer was, well, not a whole lot that you probably didn't already know. But it is coming.
“Oh the Snyder Cut, the famous-slash-infamous-slash-all-sorts-of-things Snyder Cut,” Cavill said. “I can’t really tell you anything aside from the fact that all I know is that HBO Max will be releasing it, I believe, and it’ll be Zack’s final vision for the movie, and I don’t know anything more than that. ... I think it’s important for a filmmaker and a storyteller to have their intended vision released and shown to the world, and I’m looking forward to seeing it myself. It’s been quite the ordeal.”
Cavill has donned the S on his chest for three DC Universe films now, dating back to 2013. Those would be, in order: Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League. Quality on those may differ. Reports came out last month stating that the Witcher star and Warner Bros. were in discussions for him to reprise his role as Supes, though maybe not in a standalone film for the character. That would represent good news (if you like Cavill) as previous reports said the studio was looking in another direction for the iconic role after the Justice League flop.
You can read/watch the whole Stewart/Cavill interview here.
