Could Henry Cavill Be Replaced As Superman?

Following the debut of the first Man of Steel movie back in 2013, it was stated a sequel was being worked on, but then due to the lackluster box office performance and critic and fan reception, things took a different turn, with the Batman vs. Superman movie released, which was followed by Justice League.

Recently there have been talks of a possible Man of Steel 2 with Henry Cavill stating he is all for it, and the movie has also been rumored to be announced for next week’s Comic-Con.

In a recent interview with Square Mile, Henry Cavill also offered up how the events from Man of Steel were going to set up a sequel:

While fiercely proud of Man Of Steel, Cavill implies its story was intended to catalyse the more traditional, heroic version Superman for the direct sequels that remain unfilmed. “The killing of Zod would have led to a wonderful reason why Superman never kills. Not, he never kills just because his dad said so one day. He made the decision himself because of an impossible scenario, to which he then said, ‘I don’t care if it’s impossible again, I’m gonna find a way to make it possible in the impossible.’”

The move toward a DC Universe meant “we didn’t get the opportunity to show the other side of it, the ‘I’m ready to be Superman now and I’m ready to show the world the best examples’. That’s where the joy and glee comes from, and that sense of warmth from the character, which is his real superpower – he makes people believe in themselves. It was a shame because it would’ve been nice, and it would have been a lovely coupling with the seriousness and the depth of Man of Steel.”

Now it’s being reported that kryptonite may have surfaced, and that Superman may have a chink in his armor, in regards to Henry Cavill returning to the role for Man of Steel 2.

According to Revenge of the Fans’ Mario Robles, Henry Cavill is in contract negotiations with Warner Bros. about Man of Steel 2, where there is “hardball” being played, with it sounding like Cavill is holding out for higher pay.

It’s said that Henry Cavill’s manager, Dany Garcia (also Dwayne Johnson’s manager and producer on Shazam!), is trying to get Cavill what he deserves, which is to be paid as an A-lister. Obviously we can gather WB doesn’t feel the same and doesn’t want to cough up the dough, but it is noted the talks are characterized as being positive and good.

Interestingly enough, Dwayne Johnson was recently asked about his Black Adam meeting Shazam on the big screen, which saw him reply with, “Who knows.” Dwayne Johnson is also on board the Shazam! movie as a producer, so wouldn’t he know?

To add to all the possible tension, it’s further rumored that Ben Affleck might be out as Batman, and that a new younger actor may be announced for the Matt Reeves movie.

So could Henry Cavill be replaced as Superman as well?

It could possible that WB doesn’t want to pay up and may want to get even further away from what Zack Snyder did with the DCEU. While no fault of Henry Cavill, he is basically the face of Zack Snyder’s trio of movies, which haven’t done all that well. Could WB be wanting to get away from the Snyder movies and start Superman anew? Perhaps bringing in a younger Superman actor and returning to the classic costume (which the comics recently have?).

By all accounts, Zack Snyder is out of the DCEU (only producing certain movies, which was a part of his original contract) and there is a new management team on board.  Could a soft reboot of the DCEU be taking place?

Hopefully we’ll find out more next week at Comic-Con at the DC films panel.