In the most recent shakeup from Warner Bros., Henry Cavill is not going to reprise his role as Superman in spite of everything.
The 39-year-old actor penned a letter to fans and posted it to Instagram on Wednesday night.
“I even have just had a gathering with James Gunn and Peter Safran, and it’s sad news, everyone. I’ll, in spite of everything, not be returning as Superman,” he began.
“After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the best, but that’s life,” Cavill added. “The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that. James and Peter have a universe to construct. I wish them and all involved with the brand new universe one of the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes.”
Cavill made his debut as Superman in 2013 in Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel.” He reprised the role in 2016’s “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and 2017’s “Justice League.”
Gunn echoed Cavill’s announcement in a series of Wednesday tweets that also revealed he and Safran are writing a recent film about Superman.
“Peter & I even have a DC slate able to go, which we couldn’t be more over-the-moon about; we’ll give you the option to share some exciting details about our first projects firstly of the brand new 12 months,” he said.
“Amongst those on the slate is Superman. Within the initial stages, our story will probably be specializing in an earlier a part of Superman’s life, so the character is not going to be played by Henry Cavill. But we just had a fantastic meeting with Henry, and we’re big fans and we talked about a variety of exciting possibilities to work together in the long run,” Gunn promised.
Gunn and Safran were announced as co-chairmen and CEOs for the film, TV and animation division of DC Studios, a newly formed Warner Bros. sector that replaced DC Movies in October.
They each have extensive experience with the superhero genre, having brought a few of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe’s hottest characters to life in hit movies and series resembling Marvel’s blockbuster “Guardians of the Galaxy”; DC’s highest grossing movie, “Aquaman”; in addition to “Shazam!,” “The Suicide Squad” and HBO Max‘s live-action series, “Peacemaker.”
Just just a few weeks ago, Dwayne Johnson admitted that he “fought for years” with studio executives to bring Cavill back as Superman. But for now, he’s hanging up his cape.
