Henry Cavill's Return As Superman Just Got More Complicated

Thanks to the post-credits scene of "Black Adam," fans of Henry Cavill's version of Superman began to rejoice as it seemed like the actor would be returning to the character. The excitement started to ramp up as the man behind this Man of Steel recently left Netflix's adaptation of "The Witcher," which was a part that Cavill notably loved. With both of those things happening so close together, it was hard for Big Blue's adoring public not to assume that the hero would likely come face to face with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's titular antihero in the future.

However, reports started to emerge suggesting that rumbles over the return of this iteration of the Last Son of Krypton were a bit premature. With no writer, director, or formal deal in place for a concrete project in the WB pipeline, it seemed that all forward momentum on Superman's return to the big screen had ceased. Now, as details about the direction of DC Studios under Peter Safran and James Gunn begin to emerge ahead of their official presentation to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav next week, a new report indicates that the days of the DC Extended Universe's Supes are numbered.

As of now, Henry Cavill is set to appear as Superman in "The Flash," which is scheduled to premiere on June 16, 2023. Although, according to The Hollywood Reporter, there is currently much debate about whether the studio will keep the cameo in the film. THR reports that if it does stay in, then "its inclusion promises something that studio would have no plans on delivering."

That wasn't always the case though. Apparently, when Cavill made the announcement on Instagram that "I am back as Superman" following the release of "Black Adam," there were plans to move forward with a sequel to "Man of Steel." Writers were taking meetings with the studio and "The Flash" director Andy Muschietti threw his name into the ring by saying that he aimed to bring "a tone similar to the hopeful and heroic colors of the 1978 movie directed by Richard Donner" to Cavill's next outing in the iconic red cape.

But now that Gunn and Safran's plan is coming together, it doesn't seem to include Cavill's Superman. While things are still in flux ahead of the duo's presentation to the higher-ups and things can absolutely change before next week, it seems that this shake-up in the Distinguished Competition's live-action film division was more harmful to Superman than kryptonite.