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Henry Cavill’s Superman became DC Universe’s latest casualty under new owners Warner Bros. Discovery, following a series of dramatic changes for the franchise.
Cavill’s shock announcement Wednesday that he “will not return as Superman” is the latest sign that new studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are making major changes to the DC franchise.
Following the merger that created new parent company Warner Bros. Discovery in April, DC’s $90 million Batgirl movie was scrapped in the final stages of production, and plans for Wonder Woman 3 were scrapped earlier this month.
Gunn and Safran, who took over DC Studios last month and report directly to WBD boss David Zaslav, have said they are working on a 10-year master plan for the DC Extended Universe, which will tell a unified, overarching story through through multiple media.
Gunn ominously tweeted last week that his plan to overhaul the franchise with Safran would “build on what has worked at DC so far” and “rectify what hasn’t worked.”
Superman No More: The Massive Shakeup at Warner Bros.’ DC Films has continued, with Henry Cavill revealing that he won’t be returning as Superman.
Cavill’s shock announcement that he “will not return as Superman” is the latest sign that new studio heads James Gunn (left) and Peter Safran (right) are making major changes.
Gunn wrote that he and Safran “chose to run DC Studios knowing that we were entering a troubled environment, both in the stories being told and in the audience themselves, and that there would be an inevitable transition period as we move forward to tell a story.” cohesive story throughout the film”. , TV, animation and games.’
He added that “in the end, the drawbacks of that transition period were dwarfed by the creative possibilities and the opportunity to build on what has worked at DC thus far and help rectify what hasn’t worked.”
Gunn is the writer-director who made the Guardians of the Galaxy household names for Marvel and revived The Suicide Squad for DC.
Safran has produced many films for Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, including Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, as well as Aquaman, Shazam, and the Conjuring universe horror films.
The duo replaced Walter Hamada, who oversaw DC Films, as the unit was previously known, during a tumultuous period after the departure of franchise architect Zach Snyder in 2018.
As it stands, Warner Bros. has four DC movies slated for 2023: Shazam! Fury of the God in March, The Flash in June, Blue Beetle in August, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in December.
It remains to be seen if Gunn and Safran decide to let these releases continue uninterrupted and build their 10-year vision around them, or make more dramatic changes.
Plans for Wonder Woman 3 were scrapped earlier this month amid a studio dispute.
Gunn and Safran report directly to new WBD boss David Zaslav (above) and appear to have his full blessing for their sweeping changes to the DC universe.
So far, his sweeping changes to the DC Universe appear to be rapidly adding to the costs for WBD, though all indications are that they have Zaslav’s full backing.
Regulatory filings on Wednesday showed that WBD expects its costs related to canceled content to be up to $1 billion higher than projected in October.
WBD said it now expects to take content-related write-offs and impairments totaling between $2.8 billion and $3.5 billion, up from $2 billion and $2.5 billion projected two months ago.
The filing did not specify which canceled projects the additional costs were associated with. In addition to the recent sidelining of Wonder Woman 3, several HBO shows, including Westworld and The Nevers, were recently canceled as well.
Cavill’s announcement Wednesday that he would not be returning as Superman shocked fans of the British actor, after he made a surprise cameo appearance in Black Adam just two months ago sparking his return.
“I just had a meeting with James Gunn and Peter Safran and this is sad news for everyone. I’m not coming back as Superman after all,’ Cavill began on his Instagram post.
“After the studio told me to announce my comeback in October, before [Gunn and Safran’s] hiring, this news is not the easiest, but that’s life,’ he added.
“I just had a meeting with James Gunn and Peter Safran and this is sad news for everyone. After all, I’m not coming back as Superman,” Cavill began.
Gunn responded by saying that Cavill may return to DC ‘in the future’
‘The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that. James and Peter have a universe to build,” she added.
“I wish them and everyone involved in the new universe the best of luck and the happiest of fortunes,” he added.
The actor addressed “those who have stood by me over the years,” adding, “we can cry a little,” before addressing the future of the franchise.
‘But then we must remember… Superman is still around. Everything he stands for still exists, and the examples he gives us are still there!’ Cavill said.
‘My turn to wear the cape has passed, but what Superman represents will never pass. It’s been a fun ride with all of you, onward and upward!’ Cavill concluded.
Shortly after Cavill’s statement on Instagram, DC Films head James Gunn took to Twitter to elaborate on the future of the beloved Superman character.
‘Peter and I have a DC slate out of the box, which we couldn’t be more excited about; we will be able to share exciting information about our first projects early in the new year,” Gunn began.
Wonder Woman 3 was reportedly scrapped after director Patty Jenkins (left), who directed the first two films, rejected studio notes about her treatment for the third installment.
‘Among those on the blackboard is Superman. In the early stages, our story will focus on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill,” Gunn clarified.
He added: “But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re huge fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.”
Gunn also answered some fan questions in the replies to his Twitter thread, revealing that he’s writing the new Superman movie, but won’t be directing it.
Meanwhile, it was revealed last week that Warner Bros. would not be moving forward with Wonder Woman 3, surprising DC fans.
The sequel was reportedly scrapped after director Patty Jenkins, who directed the first two Wonder Woman movies, rejected studio notes about her treatment for the third installment, according to The Wrap.
According to the sources, Jenkins had delivered his treatment last week and was not well received by studio executives.
Warner Bros. Film Group Co-Chairmen and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were cited as rejecting Jenkins’ treatment and not planning to “move forward with the film in its current iteration.”
The first major shakeup under the new WBD leadership came in August, when the Batgirl origin movie was scrapped after receiving poor test reviews.
It was also claimed that the studio’s new CEOs, James Gunn and Peter Safran, agreed that Jenkins’ version of the film did not work.
This was communicated to Jenkins and De Luca, and Abdy wondered if the director would be willing to take the sequel in a different direction.
It was alleged that Jenkins turned down the pair’s offer, accusing them of not understanding her vision or Wonder Woman’s trajectory as a whole.
‘[Jenkins] let them know they were wrong, they didn’t understand her, they didn’t understand the character, they didn’t understand the character arcs, and they didn’t understand what Jenkins was trying to do,” a source claimed.
The first major shakeup under the new WBD leadership came in August, when the Batgirl origin film was scrapped after receiving poor test reviews.
Batgirl was first greenlit in 2021 as part of a company-wide effort to create feature films specifically for HBO Max. Variety informed.
It would have featured Latina actress Leslie Grace in the title role as she battled Brendan Fraser’s Firefly, who turned to a life of crime after he was fired from his job, lost his health insurance, and was no longer able to care for his ailing wife.
According to those who have seen the now-discarded film, Michael Keaton’s Batman only appeared in a few scenes, and did not serve as a mentor to Grace’s Barbara Gordon, and the costumes were mediocre.