It’s been a while since we last saw Henry Cavill’s Superman, but in addition to getting to watch how his Justice League story was originally supposed to unfold when The Snyder Cut drops on HBO Max next year, recently there’s been word that Henry Cavill might reprise the Kryptonian hero. However, for those of you who’ve been hoping for Man of Steel 2 to get off the ground, a new rumor claims that the sequel just isn’t in the cards right now.
In case you've missed the latest DCEU Superman developments, late last month, it was reported that Henry Cavill was in talks with Warner Bros to play Superman again, though for the foreseeable future, the character would only appear in movies led by other DC superheroes, be it in a supporting role or as a cameo. Needless to say this news caught a lot of attention among DC fans, but there were also understandably questions about where Man of Steel 2 stood.
Well, according to Heroic Hollywood, there’s currently no script for Man of Steel 2 written, or even any plans to make the sequel. Supposedly there are two reasons why the project isn’t on the table right now. Regarding the first reason, one insider told the outlet that a standalone Superman movie “would not be successful at this time,” though perhaps after the character has gained some “momentum” appearing in other DC movies, then the chances of Man of Steel 2 happening would improve.
The second reason involves J.J. Abrams, who was wrote the never-made Superman: Flyby in the 2000s, and has more recently been rumored to be a contender to take the reins on the cinematic Superman. According to an insider, courting an “A-list filmmaker” like Abrams to direct a Superman-scaled property, they’d want to be able to choose who they’d cast in the title role. In other words, if Abrams was to direct a Superman movie, he’d like the option to decide who would play the superhero if he didn’t want to use Henry Cavill.
Assuming all this information is accurate, then despite Henry Cavill having expressed interest in tackling Man of Steel 2 and even suggested that Brainiac would make a good villain for the story, the pieces just aren’t in place over at DC and Warner Bros to move forward with it anytime soon. Keep in mind that there’s also already a pretty full slate of DC movies for the coming years, including fare like The Flash, Shazam! 2 and Black Adam, all of which are plausible places where Superman could appear as part of this new deal Cavill’s reportedly working out.
Still, considering how popular he still is with both hardcore comic book fans and the general public, it’d be a shame if Superman were relegated to a supporting position in the DCEU akin to how Hulk is used in the MCU. As for the solo movie aspect, here’s hoping there is a filmmaker out there who’s willing to put his own stamp on Henry Cavill’s iteration of the character, with Zack Snyder having been the only one to do that so far.
It should also be noted that even if J.J. Abrams doesn’t end up directing a Superman movie, he’s still getting to leave his mark on the DC mythos with Justice League Dark, one of three HBO Max series he and his Bad Robot production company are working on. Abrams will executive produce Justice League Dark with Ben Stephenson.
Should there be any major announcements concerning Man of Steel 2, we here at CinemaBlend will let you know. In the meantime, look through our DC movies guide to learn what else this superhero franchise has coming down the creative pipeline.
