The DC Cinematic Universe does not deserve Henry Cavill as Superman
By Shah Shahid
Fans and industry insiders were shocked when news broke recently about Henry Cavill’s tenure as Superman coming to an end. While fans have already been devastated by the news, it might possibly be the best thing for Cavill himself.
It looks like Henry Cavill’s time as Superman is coming to an end after just five years and three movies. The reports are still coming in, and seem open to interpretation, but one thing can be said for certain: the DCEU never truly deserved Cavill as their flagship character.
Cavill disrespected!
The entire DCEU was built upon Zack Synder’s Man Of Steel in 2013, starring Henry Cavill in the iconic role of Superman for the first time. While reception of Man Of Steel remains mixed to this day, the entirety of the current DCEU owes its existence to that first film. But the studio’s treatment of the character of Superman, and Henry Cavill himself, cannot be interpreted as anything other than complete and utter disrespect.
More from Movies
- The story of a French emperor: Here’s where Napoleon will stream after theaters
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes honors its origins and far surpasses them
- Thanksgiving movie death toll: Why [SPOILER] is still alive
- No, Thanksgiving is not streaming yet (But here’s where it’ll land)
- Trolls Band Together soundtrack guide: Which songs play in the movie?
A proper sequel to Man Of Steel has yet to be even considered by Warner Bros. A sequel that further explores the character of Superman and Clark Kent in this cinematic universe is nowhere in sight. Instead, Cavill was relegated to second billing in his second outing in the role, in the closest thing even resembling a sequel to Man Of Steel, Batman V. Super: Dawn Of Justice; where he had to compete for screen space and significance in story with other more experienced actors in the roles of other DC Comics characters.
This spotlight-sharing continued in Cavill’s (now possibly) final appearance as Superman in Justice League, where he appears in the second half, and even that briefly, in comparison to the other characters’ screen times. The last straw seems to have been a cameo that Cavill was reportedly to make in the next DCEU movie, Shazam! Reports of now an in-development Supergirl movie, and Warner Bros.’ recent admission that no Superman movies are currently being developed makes it abundantly clear that they do not respect or care about the cinematic version of Superman, or Cavill himself by extension.
Henry Cavill embodies Superman, on & off screen
The DCEU has had a lot of problems since its inception: revolving door of directors, casting controversies, sad actors, movies struggling to be developed, poor critical reception, studio interference, and much more. The one constant they had, was Henry Cavill. Despite the obvious disrespect, not prioritizing any sequel for his character, and not offering him anything other than showing up in movies not about his character, Cavill maintained his professionalism and good-guy nature and suited up whenever he was needed. Very much like Superman himself.
But despite this, when Warner Bros. continually decide to marginalize Cavill’s role in their movies, and continuously bump him in their slate of upcoming movies to be developed, it was only a matter of time that Cavill realized his self-worth and said, ‘enough is enough’. Even Superman can only be pushed around so far before he reacts.
Cavill deserves more
Now, I may be sounding like a die-hard Henry Cavill fan, but the truth is that I only just like him. But I do think that he was instrumental in kick-starting this shared universe, and to deny that by sidelining the most iconic comic book character of all time, while building a stable of other characters around him, is a disservice to the fans and even Cavill himself. I think it’s sad that as fans of the DCEU, and of comic book movies in general, we’ve never gotten to see a truly authentic take on Superman in this iteration of the DCEU. Cavill, despite his initial inexperience as an actor, physically fit the bill of a Superman straight out of the comics.
While criticisms about the ‘gritty and dark’ tone of the Snyder’s Man Of Steel can be chalked up to the establishing of an origin story, the story of a Superman who accepts who he is, and acts heroically by offering hope & idealism, is something we’ve yet to see in this DCEU. And it looks like we never will get to see Henry Cavill as Clark Kent, pretending to be less than he is to protect his identity, or saving people form an Earthquake in Japan then having to explain where he disappeared to others. Henry Cavill’s legacy as Superman will forever be the dark and brooding character, through no fault of his own.
While Shazam! is being billed as the ‘bright and light-hearted’ DCEU movie, that outlook is best used to describe Superman, who is often referred to as a boy-scout by Batman in other media; a sharp contrast to him describing Supermen as a murderous Alien God in BvS.
After the success of Mission Impossible: Fallout this past summer, and recent news of being cast as the lead of the Netflix game-to-series adaptation of The Witcher, Henry Cavill no longer needs Warner Bros or the DCEU as his claim to fame. And while I would love to see Henry Cavill remain as Superman, frankly, he deserves more than how he’s been treated by WB & DC so far. And unless that changes… best of luck to Henry Cavill in all his future projects.
What do you think about Henry Cavill no longer being Superman in the DCEU? Sound off in the comments below.