In an interview, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who plays Black Adam, said that Henry Cavill’s version of Superman was crucial to developing the DC Cinematic Universe. Cavill reprised his role as his version of Superman in the Black Adam film after being missing from the DCEU since 2017. Even though it was a last-minute decision, the British star dressed up as Superman for a key moment after the credits rolled, in which he confronted Johnson’s antihero. However, as Cavill himself has noted, this is merely a taste of what is to come for his interpretation of the DC icon.
The unexpected digital release of Black Adam this week prompted Johnson to post a video message on Twitter in which he discussed the future of his series. Without revealing any plot details or hints for the next years, Johnson praised Henry Cavill’s portrayal of Superman. The Black Adam actor, the Rock, shared the following about how important Henry Cavill’s portrayal of Superman is to the overall DCU:
“We have to bring back the most powerful, unstoppable force of all time in any universe. You guys know who I’m talking about. It’s Superman. That’s Henry Cavill. At the end of the day, the studio wasn’t bringing Henry back, inexplicably and inexcusably, but we weren’t going to take no for an answer, This has been years in the making, bringing Henry Cavill back with strategic conversations, and we were not going to take no for an answer. There’s no viable logical way to build out the DC Universe without the most powerful force and the greatest superhero of all time sitting on the sidelines. It’s impossible to do. You can Venn diagram this thing 90 times, but it all comes back to, ‘Where’s Superman?’ You have to have Superman in the mix, so that’s why we fought hard to bring Superman back.”
Man of Steel (2013), starring Henry Cavill as Superman, was the catalyst for the DC Extended Universe (DCU), but the franchise has continued without him as of Justice League (2017). For a long time, the status of Henry Cavill within the DCU was uncertain. Nonetheless, this did not prevent the series from using Superman. Instead, in both Shazam! and Peacemaker, body doubles filled in for him without exposing his face. Despite the DCU’s expansion with the introduction of new characters over the years, Superman has been severely underutilized, even without a leading role in a standalone film since 2013.
Superman has always been the focal point of non-comic adaptations of the DC Universe. Without Superman, DC would not be what it is now, nor would the DCCU as we know it exists. However, because of Tyler Hoechlin’s portrayal in The CW’s Arrowverse franchise, in which he stars as one of the primary characters in Superman & Lois, Superman has taken on a more central position on television in recent years. However, Superman is more important to the films than ever with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s 10-year plan for the DCU, especially if a future Justice League picture is to be realized.
Although Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios have not officially announced it, production on Man of Steel 2 has begun, and Cavill’s contract negotiations are ongoing. Although Gunn and Safran have not yet announced their precise intentions for the DCU, Superman is obviously a significant priority for their road map, so it is only a matter of time before more is revealed about Cavill’s future. As 2022 comes to a close, we can only hope that the wait until 2023 to find out what the future holds for Superman and Cavill’s involvement in the DCU is not too long.
