Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav believes DC has dropped the ball with Superman and needs to make the character more prominent moving forward.
David Zaslav, the new CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, believes Superman is being wasted by not being a larger part of DC’s future film slate.
Zaslav has been toying with the idea of overhauling DC Entertainment following the $43 billion merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia. according to reports from Variety. He believes that “several top-shelf characters such as Superman have been left to languish and need to be revitalized.”
Superman has not received a new solo film since 2013’s Man of Steel, in which he was played by Henry Cavill. There have been talks of a sequel since the first film’s release, but nothing has materialized or made it past initial discussions. 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice continued narrative threads established in Man of Steel, but the film also acted as a smaller crossover film meant to set up the plot of 2017’s Justice League (and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the cut released in 2021).
Cavill has not appeared as Superman since the theatrical and Snyder cuts of Justice League. Stand-in actors were used for Superman’s brief cameos in 2019’s Shazam! and the season 1 finale of Peacemaker.
The actor has remained open to reprising the role in future films set within the DC Extended Universe. During his promotional tour for The Witcher Season 2, Cavill revealed that he is simply waiting on DC to make the first move. “I do still have the outfit. Just in case,” Cavill said. “Ready and waiting for the phone calls.”
Despite Man of Steel 2 not being in active development, DC is working on three separate projects that will feature members associated with the Superman emblem. Sasha Calle is set to make her debut as Supergirl in the upcoming The Flash movie opposite Ezra Miller as the Scarlet Speedster and a returning Michael Keaton as Batman. Calle will be the first Latina actress to portray the Girl of Steel.
Michael B. Jordan is developing an HBO Max series focusing on Val Zod, the Superman of DC’s Earth-2. Ta-Nehisi Coates and J.J. Abrams are also at work on a Superman film featuring a Black Clark Kent. Coates stated earlier this week that he will be “turning in a draft of his screenplay… soon.”
With a handful of Superman-related projects in development, and several fans calling for Cavill’s return as the Man of Steel, Zaslav has his plate full in determining which move will be the best option for revitalizing the character and bringing him back to mainstream success.
Source: Variety
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