It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a ... casting shakeup! Warner Bros. has just lost its Superman, with actor Henry Cavill reportedly leaving the studio following the critical and commercial failure of Justice League.
Cavill's departure was reported Wednesday by The Hollywood Reporter, which notes that Warner Bros. was hoping Cavill would cameo as Superman in its upcoming film Shazam!, but the appearance will apparently no longer happen because of the actor's busy schedule. That means that Justice League will likely have been Cavill's last time playing the Man of Steel — even though that film did not offer any sort of conclusive ending for the character and, in fact, was largely centered around his return from the dead.
There evidently won't be room for another Superman appearance for a number of years anyway, though, as Warner Bros. is effectively hitting reset on the DC superhero movie universe due to its "recognition that some parts of the previous movies didn't work," per The Hollywood Reporter. One source says DC will probably make another Superman movie in a few years, but with a new actor.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cavill isn't likely to be the last high-profile departure from the DC film universe. The Hollywood Reporter also claims that Ben Affleck is not expected to reprise his role as Batman in Matt Reeves' upcoming solo film about the caped crusader, meaning Justice League might have been a very underwhelming swan song for both Cavill's Clark Kent and Affleck's Bruce Wayne.
-
The rise in unregulated pregnancy scansUnder The Radar Industry body says some private scan clinics offer dangerously misleading advice
-
Democrats seek 2026 inspiration from special election routsIN THE SPOTLIGHT High-profile wins are helping a party demoralized by Trump’s reelection regain momentum
-
Film reviews: ‘Bugonia,’ ‘The Mastermind,’ and ‘Nouvelle Vague’feature A kidnapped CEO might only appear to be human, an amateurish art heist goes sideways, and Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ gets a lively homage
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
