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Henry Cavill Won't Play Superman Again - Report [Update]

Cavill takes flight.

58 Comments

[UPDATE] Warner has now released a statement following reports that Henry Cavill will no longer play Superman in the DC Universe. It reads: "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." Additionally, Cavill has posted a bizarre video on his Instagram; it's anyone's guess what that means. The original story follows below.

Henry Cavill was first announced in the role of Superman back in 2011, and to date he has appeared in three DC movies--Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League. However, it has now been reported that he is set to leave the DC Universe and will not play the character again.

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Now Playing: Henry Cavill Won't Play Superman Again For DC--Report - GameSpot Universe News Update

According to The Hollywood Reporter, DC was looking to include a Superman cameo in next year's Shazam. However, negotiations with Cavill broke down, and with the studio increasingly moving away from the current version of their superhero universe, the actor is unlikely to reprise the role.

THR's sources state that negotiations failed due to scheduling issues, potentially with the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher that Cavill was recently cast in. However, there is also a suggestion that he took the Witcher job after failing to reach an agreement with DC. The site also states that there is a Supergirl movie in the works, which will be an origin story featuring a "teen superheroine."

In any case, it seems that the DC Universe is undergoing yet another shake-up. While Shazam, the upcoming Aquaman, and next year's Wonder Woman 1984 are technically part of the existing universe, the Joker origin movie that is about to start production is not. In addition, Ben Affleck is not expected to play Batman again, and the standalone Batman movie that is currently in development is likely to star another actor as the Caped Crusader.

Cavill's involvement with The Witcher TV show was confirmed last week, after the actor hinted about it last month. He will play Geralt in the Netflix show, which is expected to premiere in 2020. The eight-part show will be based on the fantasy novel series written by Andrzej Sapkowski, on which the games are also based..

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Nabinator

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RIP DC. Taken before its time

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Brettsky128

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He probably likes having facial hair too much.

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cboye18

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Man of Steel was the only decent movie, and that's mostly because of General Zod.

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wicked_laugh

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Get ready for Michael B Jordan to play Superman! LOL! Or maybe some Mexican actor. Naw, just have it be a white but openly gay actor.

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el_swanno

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@wicked_laugh:

Wasn’t Brandon Routh’s Superman basically Gay Superman?

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wicked_laugh

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@el_swanno: Routh isn't gay as far as I know. He played a gay dude in Zack and Miri.

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el_swanno

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@wicked_laugh:

I don’t think he is, but Bryan Singer approached Superman as a metaphor for coming out of the closet which he himself was in at the time.

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wicked_laugh

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@el_swanno: Singer is gay? I didn't know. Superheroes can be metaphors for anything though, so I wouldn't be surprised

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OtakuD50

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@wicked_laugh: It's funny because assholes actually fear this.

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Kiggor

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@OtakuD50: its not fear. it just something that shouldnt happen at all....

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Hagan

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Edited By Hagan

abandoning the sinking ship that is the DCEU

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s1taz4a3l

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Lol

This backfired for WB, they thought Cavill was bluffing about not re upping his contract unless changes where made, now they are supermanless with no way to save DCU because Cavill was the right fit for WW/Superman romance. He was also the right height to play side by side with Shazam!/ Black Adam. Not even flashpoint will save WB from imploding now.

Darkseid won.

They are going to do everything now to try to burn him for the other studios.

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deactivated-5be5c296ab383

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man of steel was ok, he was a great superman but the movies were bad

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Sevenstorms

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@keoloko: Man of Steal, Batman vs Superman and Justice League were all good movies. I enjoyed them all.

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hausjam

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Edited By hausjam

For me, man of steel, Batman vs Superman and justice league were an outstanding trilogy that stands perfectly on its own. So they might as well start over since the crybabies won’t buy any more tickets anyway.

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deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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Wow. Look at these comments. Everyone is either the greatest actor or the worst actor. Just goes to show how relative taste is.

Anyway, shame to see WB pull the plug so quickly on their shared universe, but it's their fault for chasing easy cash rather than actually giving a damn about their movies.

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monkyby87

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Edited By monkyby87

I really don't think he was the problem. None of the actors specifically were. The movies just sucked.

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hampton2003

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what a bummer. i personally really loved him as superman, especially in man of steel; he is my fav superman actor by far. bvs wasnt his direct fault and justice league was just more of the same.... bad/rushed story telling trying to force the marvel magic to happen. it really sucks that they nailed the right guy to play superman, and then screwed up the DCU. what a missed opportunity.

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jsprunk

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Time for Danny McBride to step in.

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uninspiredcup

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Good, his interpretation was rubbish. Heck, whole universe is.

Scrap it.

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normanislost

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@uninspiredcup: his? he played the role written for him

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uninspiredcup

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@normanislost: Which he performed in two modes 1) Look angry 2) Look bored

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CrimsonBrute

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CrimsonBrute  Moderator

@uninspiredcup: Second.

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Professor_Megaman

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That's the price he has to pay for getting one brief moment of applause from audiences during Justice League.

Warner Brothers wants a Superman who consistently disappoints audiences the world over.

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guudgidga

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Jesus, this is a mess. Maybe a Flashpoint film can reset this trash fire.

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deactivated-611611d19b9ca

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@guudgidga: “This movie will fix things.” The official DC motto. No, a Flashpoint movie won’t reset/fix anything. You know how some actors just don’t have that “It” factor? DC doesn’t have “It” either.

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Franzkill

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@guudgidga: Just no!

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RenoVZ

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Thank God! He was the worst actor to ever play Superman. Christopher Nolan’s worst film.

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Sevenstorms

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@renovz: You must be smoking crack ! Henry Cavill was the best actor to play Superman. He was perfect for that role !

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deactivated-611611d19b9ca

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@renovz: Zack Snyder directed it. Not Christopher Nolan. Zack Snyder is movie poison.

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Kesmai

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@renovz: Christopher Nolan was only a producer on it (and mostly in name only). He visited the set for 1 day.

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Daian

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Well that's disappointing, the scripts needed to be better but he was a good Superman.

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DarthBluntSaber

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@Daian: yeah I never found any of the actors chosen to really be the problem. The writing and directing is where I put the blame.

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DeFiLeDTitan

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@darthbluntsaber: yeah, I thought Brandon Routh was a perfect replacement for Christopher Reeve. He kind of proves it in his role on Legends of Tomorrow. Superman Returns was just incredibly boring though. And say what you will about Kevin Spacey, but he was the best part of that movie.

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videogameninja

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No surprise really.

He's Geralt now, after all.

;)

-SUPER WHITE WOLF NINJA APPROVED-

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shadowwarrior4

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@videogameninja: i wouldnt get your hopes up for that

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masscrack

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@shadowwarrior4: why not, it's been confirmed already.

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shadowwarrior4

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Edited By shadowwarrior4

@masscrack: i dont mean about him playing geralt of rivia i mean about that show being any good dont forget its based on a video game

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Brettsky128

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@shadowwarrior4: The show will be based on the books, which came out years before the games.

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goldero

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And I think DC movies is fairly done after this. Might get another win with the next Wonder Woman but that's about it.

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Geocross

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Edited By Geocross

@goldero: done? pfff! I can assure you people will still be going to watch their movies and I'm pretty sure you'll be there as well... who knows if this change will be for the good. Cavill was a good Superman and expected him to step down for the role at certain age like Hugh Jackman with Wolverine and this comes as a surprise, but sometimes negotiations are like that.

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goldero

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@Geocross: I'm sure some people will but I won't be. DC movie universe is a pale shadow next to Marvel's anyway, and I'm about done with those as well, as soon as infinity war is over. It took them a long time to make a good superman movie after the reeves group, finding another superman that'll won't feel out of place won't be easy, and Aflecks moving on; they'll make some more, but they catch on like the MCU.

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Geocross

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@goldero: Fair enough, but I think they're far from done, I mean WB has money, they just need to regroup and hire better directors (with no Feminist, PC or SJW thinking) and staff. In my humble opinion BvS and JL were good movies, yes, they had many problems but I quite enjoied them maybe because I'm not a hardcore DC fan but I know those that are, will still demand for better products and they are in their right.

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Sindroid

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Superhero movies has gone completely of the hinges. There is too many of them being made, and i honestly dont give a darn about them anymore. They are washed out green screen movies with bland humor and corny dialogue. But as long as it draw crowds they will make superhero movies where the world is never saved until.. well who knows.


Hollywood cash-in garbage i´d say. Most of the actors who joins the DC/Marvel movies commits career suicide.
Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston.. Probably not R.D jr. since he has a pretty strong resume and can jump of his Tony Stark role and have a steady career. But the others, especially those who got famous with DC/Marvel roles. They will never shake off their superhero stamp for a while and get cast in future proper movies.. Most of them will end up in crappy B-movie roles as soon as this fad has died down and people have had enough. They been in these movies far to long to be taken seriously as actors.

I have hopes for Cavill though. He jumps ship and gets out before its too late. Good for him.

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dvdjedi

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Edited By dvdjedi

@Sindroid: Bye Felicia

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drod0756

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@Sindroid: If I was an actor I would have to be crazy to turn down a Marvel role at this point. You might be right that you may always be typecast-ed as that hero for the rest of your life but the fame and fortune is almost guaranteed for many years. That is something that almost no other movie can guarantee for a relatively new actor and a significantly better proposition than hoping for your big break that for all to many actors never comes.

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Kesmai

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@Sindroid: Typecasting happens less these days and the movies have only boosted their careers and demand.

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Xristophoros

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@Sindroid: i agree that the genre is over saturated and littered with junk... but i don't think all the actors you mentioned ruined their careers. scarlet, for example even found time to be in one of the strangest movies i have ever seen AFTER she joined the marvel universe -- with under the skin. she will transition out of the comic stuff easily since she has some range as an actress. whereas the other actors you mentioned were simply bad actors to begin with. cavill in particular is a terrible actor with no range. just watch the latest mission impossible movie to verify this sentiment.

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