Between The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible – Fallout and The Witcher, Henry Cavill has been in enough high profile projects to warrant star status. But his true emergence in the general public’s minds came when Zack Snyder cast him as Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman in Man Of Steel and kicked off DC’s own Cinematic Universe. A lot of drama has happened since but things have finally come full circle as Zack Snyder will get a chance to release his elusive Justice League Snyder Cut after Warner Bros. infamously replaced him with Joss Whedon.
In a podcast with Variety, now a few days old, Cavill reflected on some of this. The first of these was taking some time to chew on the truth that Zack Snyder’s Justice League is finally a thing and will be released by the same studio, albeit on HBO Max. Crazier things have happened in 2020 but even the wildest fans wouldn’t have imagined that Warner Bros. would finally cave in to a fervent fan campaign that ran for years, much less use the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut hashtag, although they certainly hoped.
I don’t know if I’m surprised. With everything that has happened this year, with the lockdown and cinemas having to close and streaming services now being how we are getting our entertainment, it’s not really a surprise. I think it’s one of those things where it’s an opportunity, and I think it’s great that Zack [Snyder] has an opportunity to finally release his vision of [‘Justice League’] and I think that’s really important for a storyteller and a filmmaker. When that doesn’t happen, it’s always a sad occasion. And now Zack has the opportunity, and I’m excited to watch it.
Cavill next finally adressed some Superman rumors. Again, there’s been some bad blood spilled, what with rumors pegging Cavill playing tough to reprise his role for a cameo in Shazam! forcing Warner Bros. to cast a body double and hide his face instead while eyeing a long term replacement. While it played off well on screen thanks to Zachary Levi’s star-struck performance and director David F. Sandberg’s handling of the sequence, it still left many fans fuming. On Cavill’s part, the studio refused to negotiate a deal that involved more Superman appearances but the actor still insisted that he is Superman.
All that is in the past now. With Justice League’s Snyder Cut announced, the rumor mill on Cavill reprising his role for a Man Of Steel 2 further picked up steam, not that those rumors haven’t been swirling around for a while. Cavill finally put those to rest in his interview although his diplomatic response will leave you itching to see him don the cape again.
They get wilder and wilder by the day. The amount of speculation, the stuff I read on the Internet, is extraordinary and sometimes frustrating. It’s when you see people stating stuff as fact. Like, “No, that’s not the case. That hasn’t happened, and that conversation isn’t happening.” But the important thing is that people are excited about it, and I think it’s important to be excited about a character like Superman. Superman is a fantastic character. If people are chatting about it, and even if they’re making stuff up, it’s okay, because that means they want to see the character again. And in an ideal world, I would absolutely love to play the character again.
That level of dignity is something that seems to have rubbed off on him while essaying the role of Superman. Traditionally, actors who donned the cape have maintained a clean, idealistic public image since it’s so easy for people to associate the actor playing a superhero with the role. Robert Downey Jr. is often compared to Tony Stark and Chris Evans is still Captain America for many people. Cavill let out a bit about what it feels to shoulder this responsibility of being America’s hero.
When it’s about Superman, and if I’m representing Superman, it just feels like the wrong thing to do. I’m just going to let this all play out. Me saying something isn’t going to make a difference. What does it really matter? One day, people will know the truth, and if they don’t know it now, it’s okay.
Now if that isn’t a classic Superman response, I don’t know what is.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is set for release on HBO Max some time in 2021. If reports have it, it could cost quite a lot.