Purportedly, at least one DC insider strongly believes that if the company’s shared film universe is indeed being rebooted, it needs to place Henry Cavill’s Superman front and center.
Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav is reportedly looking to hire new leadership for DC, with current DC Films President Walter Hamada reporting to Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy in the meantime. De Luca and Abdy recently struck a deal to run Warners and New Line, replacing Toby Emmerich.
Under Hamada and Emmerich, Warner Bros. Pictures completed work on The Flash, which is set to release in theaters a year from now in June 2023, and will reportedly serve to reboot the DC Extended Universe. If Hamada is indeed replaced, it remains to be seen if the new DC boss will follow the new shared universe roadmap set up by The Flash, or start from scratch.
According to an anonymous DC “insider” interviewed by TheWrap, “If anything they’ll go back to individual movies unless De Luca has some plan. They need to get a f—ing Superman movie off the ground, and if the plan is a shared universe, a Cavill-led Superman needs to be the focal point.” The insider also believes that Zaslav’s team “should scratch every Superman project in development and start fresh with Cavill.”
Cavill first portrayed Clark Kent/Superman in the 2013 film Man of Steel. As the first iteration of the DCEU began to take shape, Cavill reprised his role as the Last Son of Krypton in the 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017’s Justice League. Since then, however, it’s been uncertain if and when he would return to the role.
Cavill did appear as Superman in 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the long-sought-after director’s cut of the 2017 film. But unlike some of his co-stars, he did not partake in any reshoots. Furthermore, while Cavill’s version of Superman technically also appeared in the 2019 DCEU film Shazam! and the 2022 DCEU streaming series Peacemaker, the character was played by a body double in both instances. In other words, Cavill has effectively been absent from the DCEU for five years now.
In the interim, other Superman-centric projects have begun to take shape. Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing a Superman reboot film to be produced by J.J. Abrams, which is reportedly planned to focus on a Black Man of Steel. That said, Coates’ script is also rumored to leave the door open for Cavill’s potential return.
A live-action series focusing on the Val-Zod incarnation of Superman is also in the works for HBO Max, with Michael B. Jordan attached to develop, produce and star. Meanwhile, Arrowverse veteran Tyler Hoechlin continues to play Clark Kent on The CW’s Superman & Lois, which was recently renewed for a third season.
Source: TheWrap
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