We’re not in the same Metropolis anymore, Toto. Back in October—a whole two months ago—Henry Cavill announced both that he was leaving The Witcher, and that he would be returning to the DC fold as Superman (as seen above).
But it turns out, he’s not squeezing back into those tights after all. As the DC universe continues to get shaken like a snowglobe, a new Superman will rise—this one written by new DC Studios head James Gunn, with a story set earlier in the Man of Steel’s life.
If you just groaned, take a small bit of heart: Gunn said it’s not a Superman origin story (which absolutely no one needs at this point), but it’s clearly a reset of sorts.
Among those on the slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman's life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022
Gunn’s brief Twitter statement continued, “But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.” He also answered a handful of questions, saying that he’s been writing the film “for a while” and that no director has been selected. But another DC actor might return to the fold as a director:
Met with Ben yesterday precisely because he wants to direct & we want him to direct; we just have to find the right project. https://t.co/Haz1APdlVN
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022
This new shake-up comes on the heels of some industry back-and-forth about the fate of Wonder Woman 3. After news broke that the film wasn’t moving forward—at least not with director Patty Jenkins—one report said that Jenkins had walked away after refusing to take studio notes on her script treatment. Jenkins, like Gunn, took to Twitter to make a statement:
— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) December 14, 2022
The role of Matt Reeves’ Batman is also somewhat up in the air, apparently. When a Variety report suggested that Gunn and his co-studio head Peter Safran were looking to bring the Reeves version of the character (played by Robert Pattinson) into the broader DC universe, Gunn shot the piece down:
There are few reporters I love more than @adambvary – truly a good guy – but in this case he needs to get a new source as this is entirely untrue. https://t.co/a7cnbTfpSi
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 14, 2022
Four DC movies are set for next year: The Flash, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Blue Beetle. The new regime may have plans to announce in early 2023, but the resulting films won’t be on screens until at least 2024—and everything could still change again before Gunn’s new Superman arrives.
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