Just when you thought that the DC cinematic universe couldn’t get into a bigger mess, they lose one of their lead actors. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Henry Cavill, who played Superman in three DC movies, is done with playing the character. Although Cavill was set to continue portraying Superman in the upcoming DC movies, the sources told THR that the 35-year-old actor is about to part ways with Warner Bros. studio.
Warner Bros. reportedly wanted Henry Cavill to make a cameo appearance in their upcoming DC superhero movie Shazam!, but the two sides couldn’t reach a contract agreement. Another issue was the fact that the studio decided to make a change of strategy regarding the DC cinematic universe and that Superman stand-alone feature is several years away. This and overall insecurity when it comes to upcoming DC films made Cavill move on and accept a lead role in Netflix’s The Witcher.
After the reports about Cavill’s exit started circling, Warner Bros. issued a statement.
“While no decisions have been made regarding any upcoming Superman films, we’ve always had great respect for and a great relationship with Henry Cavill, and that remains unchanged,” said the studio in a statement.
Henry Cavill first starred as Superman in 2013’s Man of Steel, and then went on to reprise his role in 2016’s Batman vs. Superman and 2017’s Justice League. The last two movies received poor reviews from the critics and weren’t as successful at the box office as Warner Bros. hoped, so the studio decided to “hit a reset button” on their plans for the future of DC cinematic universe. Besides Cavill, it is expected that Ben Affleck will also bow out from portraying Batman in the Matt Reeves’ upcoming Batman stand-alone film.
On the other hand, the rest of the Justice League’s main cast is expected to stick around; at least for now. Jason Momoa has a solo Aquaman movie coming out in November 2018, while Gal Gadot will reprise her role of Wonder Woman in 2019’s Wonder Woman 1984. Finally, Ezra Miller, who starred as Flash in Justice League, will start shooting Flash standalone movie in early 2019.
