Henry Cavill, who can currently be seen in the excellent Mission: Impossible—Fallout alongside Tom Cruise, is reportedly done doing that whole Superman thing.
Presumably reliable sources hit the Hollywood Reporter with the news Wednesday, though both Warner Bros. and Cavill have declined confirmation. The studio had been in talks with Cavill about a Superman appearance in the upcoming Shazam! when negotiations "broke down," a development that has reportedly caused the door on other Superman appearances to close.
“We have a great relationship and great respect for Henry Cavill that continues to remain unchanged. Additionally we have made no current decisions regarding any upcoming Superman films,” a Warner Bros. spokesperson later said, perDeadline. Though it's far from confirmed, Deadline also reports that the studio has previously considered casting Michael B. Jordan in the role of Superman.
.@michaelb4jordan as Superman. WHO’S IN? 👀 pic.twitter.com/J2c7wBvSIX
Currently, the focus has now been placed on putting together a Supergirl origin story film, which—if canon is followed—would make Cavill unqualified to reprise the role. Conflicting reports on Cavill's departure from the DC universe places blame for the Shazam! negotiation difficulties on either scheduling overlaps or the new Supergirl focus, though neither has been confirmed.
Cavill appeared as Superman in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League. Way back in 2013, Cavill spoke on the excitement he had leading up to his Superman debut. "I don't think there’s an intimidation to it as such," he toldCollider at the time. "Certainly if I really thought about it and concentrated, there's been a couple of phases where people have said, they've been explaining to me all the Superman cookies and the ice creams and I saw Organic Kryptonite next to an Organic Corn sign on the way down here. There was a second where I went, 'Wow, this is massive.' You gotta ignore that and not let it get to you. Otherwise, you'll be focusing so much on the pressure as opposed to actually dealing with the important thing which is doing justice to the character."
Anyway, remember all that DC mustache drama? Good times.
