James Gunn Reflects on Telling Henry Cavill He Won't Be Playing SUPERMAN Anymore: "This Poor Guy"

The new DC Cinematic Universe all started with James Gunn bringing in fresh talent for his rebooted Superman movie. As actor David Corenswet steps into the red cape for Gunn’s Superman, fans still love and appriciate former Man of Steel, Henry Cavill, and what he brought to the franchise.

In a recent chat on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn opened up about how difficult it was to tell Cavill he'd no longer be playing Clark Kent, a conversation he described as “terrible” and “really unfair.” Gunn recalled that the timing couldn’t have been worse:

“It’s terrible. Believe it or not, the day we were dealing with trying to figure out if we could take the job at DC Studios. The day the deal closed, all of a sudden, they were announcing that Henry was back. And I was like, ‘What is going on? We know what the plan is. The plan was to come in and do Superman.’ It was really unfair to him and a total bummer.”

According to Gunn, Cavill handled the news remarkably well, proving himself once again to be one of Hollywood's true class acts. Gunn explained how respectful Cavill was during their conversation:

“He was an absolute gentleman and a great guy about it. He said, ‘The only thing I ask is that I’m able to reveal it myself as opposed to coming from you guys.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s a class act.’”

Gunn, who took the helm of DC Studios alongside co-chair Peter Safran in 2022, described the chaotic environment at Warner Bros. Discovery before their arrival. He pointed out the confusion about Cavill's future, emphasizing how unfortunate it was that Cavill got caught in the middle:

“There was a vacuum at the time and a lot of people were… They had a take on what they wanted to do at DC and they were trying to force their way and it was just never part of the equation for [WBD CEO] David Zaslav. We came in, and that was really unfortunate. I’m like, ‘This poor guy.’”

While Cavill has officially handed over Superman's cape to Corenswet for the new DCU phase titled Gods and Monsters, Gunn made it clear he's not closing the door on future opportunities. Gunn himself confirmed he's eager to find a new role for Cavill in the revamped DC cinematic universe, stating:

“I talked to him about it on that day. I would love to put Henry in something.”

With Gunn leading the charge into a new era, fans are now eagerly awaiting not only Corenswet’s take on the iconic hero but also hoping for Cavill's possible return in a new DC role.