Warner Bros. says goodbye to its Superman

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.

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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.