It’s a bird ... it’s a plane ... it’s Henry Cavill’s last-ditch effort to play Superman again.
Since making his debut in “Man of Steel” eight years ago, the British star has suited up on the screen with increasingly diminished returns in the poorly received follow-ups “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League,” which was rereleased last year as Zack Snyder’s director’s cut on HBO Max.
But as DC continues to tinker with its superhero cinematic universe (goodbye Batfleck, hello Robert Pattinson!), Cavill’s version of the character has seemingly been put on ice with reports claiming he won’t return for future films.
In a new profile for The Hollywood Reporter published on Wednesday, however, Cavill says he’s not ready to hang up the cape for good, stating, “There is still a lot of storytelling for me to do as a Superman, and I would absolutely love the opportunity.”
Cavill points to the climax of 2013’s “Man of Steel,” in which Superman controversially kills Kryptonian baddie General Zod, as to why there’s still material left to explore in a future stand-alone project.
“The killing of Zod gave a reason for the character never to kill again. Superman falling to the ground and screaming afterward — I don’t think that was originally in the script, but I wanted to show the pain he had,” Cavill explained. “I did far more emotional takes they didn’t choose; tears were happening. He just killed the last remaining member of his species. That’s the choice he made in that moment, and he’ll never do that again.”
The emotional moment fused a connection to the character that Cavill has seemingly yet to shake.
“There’s an opportunity for growth after that, to explore the psyche of Superman as a deep, seemingly invulnerable god-like being but with real feeling on the inside,” he added. “As I always say, ‘The cape is still in the closet.’”
But it seems as if DC has other plans, given the studio is currently developing a reboot penned by Ta-Nehisi Coates and produced by J.J. Abrams that will feature a Black actor in the title role.
Taking the more-the-merrier approach to the ever-expanding universe, Cavill calls the potential film “exciting,” adding that the character is “far more than skin color.”
“Superman is an ideal. Superman’s an extraordinary thing that lives within our hearts,” he said. “Why not have multiple Supermen going on? Joaquin Phoenix did a wonderful Joker movie; so what if it’s not tied to the rest of [the franchise]? They have multiple Superman comic book storylines happening at the same time.”
And should his appeals fail to move DC executives, Cavill already has a backup in motion, suggesting that he’s ready to switch superhero teams and join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“I have the internet and I have seen the various rumors about Captain Britain and that would be loads of fun to do a cool, modernized version of that — like the way they modernized Captain America,” he said about the Marvel character from across the pond that fans have longed to see pop up on screen. “There’s something fun about that, and I do love being British.”
If that doesn’t work out, there’s always his backup career as the world’s hottest IT technician.