Henry Cavill’s Superman role announcement: what’s happening with the next movie

Henry Cavill says “this news isn’t the easiest” after recently receiving approval from Warner Bros. to announce his return to the role of Superman.

James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy and the new co-chairman of DC Studios, is writing a Superman movie that will not involve actor Henry Cavill, who said “this is not the easiest news” after recently announcing his return to the role, according to The Guardian.

The new Superman movie written by Gunn will take the character in a different direction and focus on the superhero’s younger years. The announcement comes amid major changes at DC Studios and parent company Warner Brothers, which has cut dozens of projects to cut costs after its merger with Discovery.

Superman without Henry Cavill

Cavill played Superman in the 2013 film Man of Steel. In October, after resigning from the lead role in the Netflix series The Witcher, he announced he would return to play Superman again.

Now, Cavill has written on Instagram that Gunn and co-star Peter Safran met with him to break the news.

“After all, I’m not coming back as Superman,” Cavill wrote.

“After the studio told me to announce my return in October before they hired me, this news is not the easiest, but that’s life. Changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that. James and Peter have a universe to build. I wish them and everyone involved in the new universe the best of luck and all the best.”

Fans might “mourn a little”, he wrote, but “Superman is still around”.

“It’s past my turn to wear the cape, but what Superman stands for will never cease. It’s been a fun ride with all of you.”

For reference, Cavill’s announcement that he would return as Superman was approved by Warner Bros, before Gunn and Safran took their roles at DC Studios on November 1. Just six days earlier, Cavill said in an interview that he was looking forward to playing a Superman, that he was “enormously excited” and that he was “very excited” about hiring Gunn.