Say It Ain’t So … Is Henry Cavill and Superman Over?

Henry Cavill and Superman over? Say it ain’t so…

The internet has exploded with rumours that Superman himself, Henry Cavill, is set to leave the Universe that he helped create.

If true, this is a crushing blow to a company still trying to get off the ground. Cavill, for all the flack the DCEU (World’s of DC?) has received, has been a beacon of light. His version of Superman no matter how dark and off the DCEU has been, is spot on. He is stoic, unwavering and perfectly personafiesthe beliefs that Superman is known for.

The rumours began after it was reported that Henry Cavill and Superman were slated to make a cameo in the upcoming Shazam! movie. It appears as though contract talks broke down, leaving Cavill without the role and the relationship soured.

Despite the fact that Cavill claims no merit to the rumour, as the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

All may not be lost, however

After striking out more times than connecting, a reset may be what the DCEU needs. It’s no secret that both DC and Warner Bros. need to get things on track. The longer they delay/put off change, the further they fall behind Marvel and, to a lesser extent, Image. 

Cavill was recently linked to the forthcoming Netflix project, The Witcher. From the standpoint of an actor who has done his part to literally carry a universe, this makes sense. As I’ve heard, “you only live once”, right. If his reasoning for doing the project is to avoid being typecast in the DCEU as Superman, can anyone blame him?

I certainly can’t. Change, no matter how painful, is a necessary part of life. Without it, we may still be sitting around a cave banging rocks together. If this is the direction that DC and Warner Bros. decide to go, I hope that they re-evaluate what’s going on. 

The right track

Warner Bros. had the right idea when they attempted Suicide Squad. They took characters that the average movie goer wouldn’t know and introduced them to the masses. While the execution wasn’t perfect, it was intelligent.

DC, for all its history, may want to think about stepping away from the big three characters. They may want to think about not using Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman. Each of them come with great expectations and as we’ve seen, those expectations aren’t easy to hit.

They need to think about the same thing Marvel thought about 10 years ago. They need to think about introducing characters that people don’t care about and make them care about them.

If Henry Cavill and Superman are done, it allows Warner Bros. the perfect opportunity to do so.

Cheers,

Joel