A face-to-face conversation and no bad blood. But what did James shockingly
say about Henry Cavill not being Superman anymore?
The DC Extended Universe has officially been nuked, with Henry Cavill and the rest of the
"Justice League" crew being given new marching orders from Warner Bros. over
the past few months — and in Cavill's case, he's marching right out the studio's front door. Now,
weeks later, DC Studios co-head James Gunn has finally decided
to clear the air about the entire Cavill situation, or how he views it at least.
For those who might've missed what happened last year, DC's Extended Universe went on the
chopping block in late 2022 after Gunn was hired to do studio resuscitation
for Warner Bros., along with co-head Peter Safran. Right from the start,
people expected the new DC Studios duo to flip the entire DCEU on its head.
But here's where the controversy comes in: Cavill, on October 24, 2022,
posted a video on his Instagram page announcing his return to the DCEU as Superman — just one
day before it was announced that Gunn and Safran would lead the DC film division at
Warner Bros. He even appeared in a mid-credits scene for "Black Adam." Little did the "Mission:
Impossible — Fallout" actor know that the duo's DC creative wheels were already spinning and
changing direction rapidly. According to Gunn, there was never a plan in place for
Cavill to return as Superman before his departure was announced in December 2022.
"He's back."
Speaking at a private press event on January 30, at which DC Studios announced its new movie slate,
James Gunn claimed that the Henry Cavill casting controversy was actually not much
of a controversy at all — because Cavill was never hired. Gunn told reporters,
"We didn't fire Henry. Henry was never cast."
He added,
"Henry was just not hired to be Superman in the Superman movie.
There was never a deal there for another movie."
Now, on the surface of the Cavill sacking, it would appear that DC Studios had invited
the actor back and asked him to announce his return before the James Gunn and Peter
Safran hiring was made public. But to say that Cavill was never hired is a bit of a
stretch since Cavill said publicly that Warner Bros. had asked him to return as
Superman for future projects. Needless to say, DC fans are ticked off about it.
One Twitter user blasted off a tweet saying:
"So, James Gunn straight up calling Henry Cavill a liar? Good to know."
Another tweeted,
"This is why to always get something in writing before you commit yourself to something. They
Really F'ed Henry over with that announcement."
From the beginning, DC fans thought the entire Cavill situation was
wrong and handled poorly. Back in December 2022, a Twitter user wrote,
"I'm a James Gunn fan, but firing Henry Cavill
after he let go of 'Witcher' to play Superman again is villain behavior."
Meanwhile, Gunn insists that there's no bad
blood towards Cavill on his end and that it's all just part of his job.
Speaking Monday night at the private press event, James Gunn claimed to be a fan of Henry Cavill and
insisted that the decision to go in a different direction with Superman was strictly business.
"For me, it's about, Who do I want to cast as Superman,
and who do the filmmakers we have want to cast? And for me, for this story,
it isn't Henry [...] This Superman is not Henry, for a number of reasons."
Gunn, who is very vocal on social media, revealed in a December Twitter post that
he was very truthful to Cavill throughout the entire goodbye process. Gunn noted how
he had a face-to-face conversation with Cavill before the news broke, tweeting,
"I'm anything but cold about it [...] We had a very open and honest and respectful
discussion. We've communicated since and he and I are all good."
Speaking on Monday night, Gunn showed his admiration for Cavill and what
he's been through with Warner Bros. over the past few months — which he
ultimately blamed on his predecessors. Gunn said,
"I like Henry, I think he's a great guy. I think he's getting d----- around by a lot of people,
including the former regime at this company."
As for what the future now holds at DC, Gunn and Peter Safran have announced several new
movies and projects for the DC Universe reboot — including new Batman, Superman,
and Supergirl movies, a Swamp Thing project, and much more.
"I can't wait to start to dive into these stories with you guys
on this grand adventure. Thank you so much."
Overall, the DC Studios roadmap looks bright, and it's only a matter of time before we
find out who will eventually be filling Cavill's shoes as the Last Son of Krypton.