The DC live-action universe is an unpredictable place, which seems to be in constant motion. The shared universe began with rocky projects like Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad and Justice League, but has recently found its stride in director-driven movies that focus on just one superhero at a time. Aquaman and Shazam! both saw critical and box office success, and without the need for crossovers. Although the latter movie did have a quick cameo by Superman, albeit not played by Henry Cavill himself.
Henry Cavill's fate as Superman is still up in the air (pun intended), as he hasn't officially hung up the cape, but there are also no plans to bring the Man of Steel back to the screen anytime soon. Cavill didn't get to film Supe's cameo in Shazam!, with a body double being used instead for the quick sight gag. Now we can see Zachary Levi filming the scene with the stand-in actor, check it out below:
That guy might not have been Henry Cavill, but you've got to admire the swoop in his Superman hair. The image shows to (capeless) heroes striking a pose in their signature suits, although one of them is a face that moviegoers will likely be unfamiliar with.
This new image comes to us from Instagram, and is a delightful look into the production of Shazam!'s final scene. It's a selfie seemingly taken by Zachary Levi himself, posing in front of a mirror. He's posing with stunt performer Ryan Handley, who was the stand-in for Superman's appearance as Freddy and Billy's cafeteria. The two are rocking each hero's iconic costume, with Handley able to fill out the suit normally worn by Henry Cavill.
Henry Cavill has a hulking presence as the Man of Steel, as the 36 year-old actor usually packs on the muscles for his appearances in the DCEU. It helped give Clark Kent a more powerful physicality, and seems to have worked for Cavill during his appearances in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League. Ryan Handley uses his body for his work as a stunt man, and he looks pretty killer as the Last Son of Krypton.
Related: We May Know What Superman's Planned Shazam! Cameo Was
Superman's cameo comes at the tail end of Shazam!, after Billy and his foster siblings had become heroes. Billy shows up as his superhero alter-ego at school, helping to give Freddy some street credit among his peers. And to top it all of, even Superman joins the fun, revealing that the two heroes had met.
You can check out the scene in question below.
That cameo still hits all the nerdy sweet spots, despite Shazam! first hitting theaters back in April. It's an effective scene, and one that has DC fans clinging onto the hope that the two heroes might meet for real in a future installment of the shared universe.
The plans for the DCEU took a pivot following the poor critical and box office performance of Zack Snyder's Justice League. The heroes' respective solo movies were mostly pushed back (except for Aquaman), while Ben Affleck dropped out of his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. There were rumor that Henry Cavill was leaving Superman behind as well, but since it hasn't been confirmed there's still the pipe dream of that long-awaited Man of Steel sequel.
The next installment in the DCEU is Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7th, 2020. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
