Man of Steel 2 Just Moved Another Step Closer

Following the shock announcement from Netflix that Henry Cavill was leaving his starring role as Geralt of Rivia on The Witcher after completing three seasons of the show, speculation immediately began over Cavill’s reasons for exiting the series. After all, one could argue The Witcher gave a second wind to his career. We’re not here to debate those theories, or the pros and cons of Liam Hemsworth taking over the role (this writer has never watched an episode of The Witcher to date). But we are here to state what seems incredibly obvious to us: Cavill is almost certainly leaving the series to make a full-fledged return to the DC universe as Superman.

Let’s do the math, folks: Henry Cavill made a long-rumored cameo during the end credits of Black Adam—a cameo practically willed into existence by that film’s star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson—in full Kal-El gear. It’s the first time Cavill has played Superman since shooting ended on 2017’s Justice League.

At almost the same time, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced that fan favorite James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films and The Suicide Squad, and creator of Peacemaker, would be one half of a new team taking over DC’s film and TV universe, rebranded as DC Studios. The perception is that Gunn, who knows these comic book universes like you know the way you like your coffee in the morning, would bring a much-needed creative focus and energy to the troubled and directionless DC Extended Universe, which has been adrift since the collapse of the Snyderverse.

And just like that, Cavill immediately quits a show that he told the Hollywood Reporter in 2021 he would “absolutely” be willing to stay with for seven seasons if it managed to go that far.

Our guess is that Cavill took a meeting or call with Gunn and producer Peter Safran (who officially start their jobs as co-chairs of DC Studios on Tuesday, Nov. 1) and was likely informed that they had big plans for Superman to rightly return to the forefront of DC’s cinematic universe.

For years there have been rumors of a Man of Steel 2, almost since Cavill made his debut in the original MoS back in 2013. Those plans were sidelined by Warner Bros.’ rush to assemble the Justice League by fast-tracking Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, which left a proper standalone follow-up to Man of Steel in the dust.

But speculation about a Superman sequel never quite let up, with Gunn himself even at one point to being offered the gig (he took The Suicide Squad instead). Cavill also never quite let go of the possibility of playing the role again, even as his career flourished with The Witcher, which launched in December 2019 and sent Cavill back to the top of the genre A-list. And recent reports have indicated that the new Warner Bros. regime was keen on resurrecting the project.

Cavill also promised in a new interview with podcaster Josh Horowitz (via People) that his next iteration of the last son of Krypton would be “enormously joyful,” perhaps more in line with Christopher Reeve’s beloved take than the brooding, tormented, reluctant superhero of the grim Snyder films.

Will the film, if it happens, be called Man of Steel 2 or something else? And will Gunn, Cavill, and the rest of the creative team live up to Cavill’s words and create a newly invigorated Superman who actually, you know, enjoys saving the Earth? All remains unclear for now. But what does seem quite clear to us is that it won’t be long before DC fans are drinking from the tears of The Witcher‘s acolytes.