New Superman Movie Coming From James Gunn, Henry Cavill Could Play Non-Superman Part In New DC Universe

Well, how's about some pretty crazy, late-breaking DC movie news, everyone? We've heard a lot of conflicting reports regarding the future of the DC Universe as of late, particularly following the appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran as the co-heads of DC Studios. Now, we've been provided with some clarity on a very important topic: that of the future of Superman. For one, it has been confirmed that Henry Cavill will not be returning as the Man of Steel, despite previous reports to the contrary. What's happening instead, you may ask? Well, Gunn is personally writing a "Superman" movie focused on a younger version of the character.

Before getting into the Cavill of it all, let's start with what we know about the new movie. Gunn took to Twitter to confirm the news personally, saying that he and Safran are going to be starting some of their new DC projects at the beginning of the new year. Here's what the "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "The Suicide Squad" director had to say about it:

"Peter & I have a DC slate ready to go, which we couldn't be more over-the-moon about; we'll be able to share some exciting information about our first projects at the beginning of the new year. Among those on the slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman's life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill. But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we're big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future."

There is no word yet on who will play this younger Superman. It's also not clear who will direct, though James Gunn does seem like an obvious choice. However, Gunn made it clear on Twitter that the director's chair has not officially been filled as of yet. But the most interesting part of this relates to Henry Cavill, who first played the part in 2013's "Man of Steel," which kicked off the current iteration of the DC Universe as we know it.

It got tricky recently as Cavill showed up in a post-credits scene in "Black Adam," with the actor soon after announcing his return. That, however, was before Gunn and Safran took over, and they decided to take things in another direction. But, as Gunn said in his statement, they are looking to see if they can find another role for Cavill in the future of the DCU, whatever that may look like. We know he won't be busy with "The Witcher" as he's leaving the show behind. So begin your fancasting now.

Cavill took to Instagram to release a statement on the matter, which you can read in its entirety below. Meanwhile, Gunn and Safran appear to be distancing themselves from the so-called Snyderverse, as "Wonder Woman 3" is not moving forward either. It's the end of something that was, quite frankly, messy, and the start of something new.