It’s no secret that Cavill has always expressed a fondness for playing Superman, though his time in the role was a bit of a rollercoaster. After debuting in 2013’s Man Of Steel, Cavill reprised the role for Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, which was critically panned but fiercely defended by director Zack Snyder’s fervent fans. Then came 2017’s Justice League (plagued by Cavill’s mustache controversy, among other things) and the subsequent release of Snyder’s cut a few years later, to the delight of Snyder Bros. Cavill’s last proper appearance as Superman was a cameo in 2022’s Black Adam starring Dwayne Johnson. At the time, Cavill teased that it was “a very small taste of what’s to come” and gleefully spoke of “a bright future ahead” with “an enormously joyful Superman.” Johnson, in a comment that also aged like milk, repeatedly claimed that the hierarchy in the DC universe was going to change because of his titular character. Ironically, the hierarchy did in fact change, just not in Johnson or Cavill’s favor. Around the release of Black Adam, James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed the new co-CEOs of DC Studios. That December, a defeated Cavill took to Instagram to share that he met with Gunn and Safran, and would not be returning as Superman. Gunn later explained that Cavill wasn’t a fit for the rebooted Superman, which focused on a younger iteration of the Man of Steel.
It’s not clear exactly when Cavill’s Inverse interview took place, though it very well could have happened before the shocking news broke on Monday that Gunn and Safran stepped down as co-CEOs of DC Studios after four years. In light of that news, no one—not even actors attached to DC projects currently in the works—knows what’s going on. A fair share of things seem particularly in flux right now as former Marvel producer Jeremy Latcham takes over, like James Gunn’s reported screenplay for a third installment of his Superman franchise starring David Corenswet, which would have set up a Justice League team-up. So maybe Cavill’s “never say never” philosophy regarding Superman isn’t entirely unreasonable.
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