After kicking off the DC Extended Universe with Man of Steel in 2013 and making the ultimate sacrifice in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice last year, Henry Cavill's Superman is only a couple days away from returning to the land of the living in Justice League. And with this resurrection, Cavill claims that audiences will finally be introduced to the "true" Superman of this franchise, as the actor and DC president Geoff Johns have been looking through the Kryptonian hero's comic book past to find ways to make the latest cinematic version of the character more faithful to the source material. In Cavill's words:
Geoff [Johns] and I have been delving into the history of the character to get to the core of who Superman is. This is the first time we see the true Superman. The Superman who is confident, and sure, and full of hope and joy.
Although both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice have their fair share of fans, both movies have certainly drawn polarizing reactions, particularly when it comes to this universe's depiction of Superman, who has struggled more with his heroic duties compared to his cinematic predecessors. But by being reborn in Justice League, Cavill believes that now moviegoers will be seeing a Superman who is more in line with his comic book counterpart. We shouldn't dismiss all the good he did the first time around, but with this second life, he'll become an even better beacon of hope for humanity.
That's not to say that there won't still be dark moments in Justice League. Along with recently commenting to EW about Superman's personality changes, Henry Cavill has also said that the movie has a "serious scenario with moments of humor and lightness peppered throughout." It's possible that the dark elements could play into how Superman returns to life. At the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's climactic battle, Clark Kent/Kal-El gave his life to defeat Doomsday, but in the final seconds of the movie, dirt was shown starting to levitate over his coffin, foreshadowing that he would soon be back among us. However, with rumors of Superman donning a black suit in Justice League, there's been speculation that the character's resurrection will result in him becoming a force for evil. Even if that's true, at least we don't have to worry about him spending too long in this corrupted state. Once the events of Justice League are out of the way, Superman will be free to continue protecting the innocent in Man of Steel 2 and any other appearances Warner Bros has lined up for him.
We'll see Superman fly back into action when Justice League is released this Friday, November 17. You can also browse through our DC movies guide to see what other projects this franchise has in development.
