James Gunn’s spent the past few weeks talking about why he agreed to do Superman, and he’s also taking time to address the awkward part: agreeing to do it at the apparent expense of Henry Cavill’s superhero comeback.
In 2022, the mid-credits scene for Black Adam none too subtly declared Cavill’s return and his team up (or fight) with Dwayne Johnson’s thunderous antihero. Nothing came of that, however, because as Gunn explained in a recent Happy Sad Confused episode, it was “never part of the equation.” As he told podcast host Josh Horowitz, Cavill’s announcement that he was coming back came the same day Gunn and co-DC Studios head Peter Safran closed their deal. Gunn “diplomatically” said someone at the time (read: Johnson) was making a play to lead DC’s movie slate, and we all know how that shook out.
The entire situation was “really unfortunate” to Cavill, said Gunn, who added he and Gunn later spoke with the actor to explain things, and they let him announce the bad news through his own channels as he requested. Despite how things shook out, Gunn stressed he’d be more than happy to bring Cavill into his DC universe as another character in “something”—but if there’s anything specific he thinks Cavill is perfect for, Gunn is keeping his mouth shut.
Likewise, he remains cagey on the next DC project he’s writing, which he promises will once again involve David Corenswet’s Superman. When pressed, Gunn stressed the hero is “very important” to the story, but it’s not a sequel or a teamup with Batman. Said project will be revealed “sooner rather than later,” so that’s something! Just don’t expect it in the next immediate week, since DC’s not bringing any movies with them to San Diego Comic-Con.