Rumour: WB focusing on Superman movie again

For the last few years, Warner Bros.’s plans for the Man of Steel had flown up, up, and away. Following the critical and commercial failure of 2017’s Justice League – which followed the divisive Man of Steel and Batman V Superman – the studio had decided to give Henry Cavill’s Superman a bit of a breather. With Cavill himself seemingly not happy with his recent super-appearance, Ben Affleck relinquishing his role as Batman, and the Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam! movies off doing their own thing that didn’t tie directly into the greater working of the DC Comics Extended Universe, this approach made sense.

It’s not like WB didn’t have another cape-wearing Kryptonian superhero to tap into, as Oren Uziel (22 Jumps Street, Sonic the Hedgehog) was hired to pen a script for a Supergirl movie. The Maiden of Might (yes, that is Supergirl’s official terrible nickname) would be WB’s super-focus for the next few years. It was rumoured that the film would be set in the 1970s and would also introduce a younger actor in the role of Superman, much like how Matt Reeves’ The Batman cast Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight (we still don’t know how the continuity will line up, if it does at all). But according to a new report from Heroic Hollywood, those plans may have changed. Apparently, WB has decided to put the Supergirl movie on hold and instead return their attention to Superman. No writers have been hired, and timelines seem to be very far off, but Cavill could possibly be back in the red and blue pyjamas.

Now this report comes from Heroic Hollywood founder Umberto Gonzalez, who used to arguably be the top scooper in the biz when it came to superhero movies, but has had a more spotty record as of late. So please, keep the salt handy. However, there’s a bunch here that makes sense.

Following up Cavill’s Justice League appearance – where he finally became the more traditional Superman that many fans had been asking for – with a Supergirl seems like a very odd move. Not to mention that a 1970s set Supergirl story would need to explain where she was during the events of the previous films. And, of course, thanks to huge hits like The Witcher and Mission: Impossible, Cavill has never been a hotter property in Hollywood than he is right now so there’s a lot of appeal here. On top of that, the actor has started to walk back his earlier reluctance to reprise the role. At the end of last year, Cavill spoke to Men’s Health and revealed that he thought the darker approach of Batman v Superman “didn’t work”, but seemed very eager to take on the character again in a new light:

I’ve not given up the role. There’s a lot I have to give for Superman yet. A lot of storytelling to do. A lot of real, true depths to the honesty of the character I want to get into. I want to reflect the comic books. That’s important to me. There’s a lot of justice to be done for Superman. The status is: You’ll see.

Now a Man of Steel sequel had been in early development for a time with none other than fan-favourite director Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class, Kingsman, Kick-Ass) attached. And Vaughn’s more comics-accurate pitch to WB lined up very closely to what Cavill’s saying here, as it was to be a “massive, uplifting, hopeful thing”. While the acclaimed filmmaker parted ways with the studio a few years back, he has also publicly stated that “It’d be hard to say no” if WB gave him a crack at Superman again. If that’s actually what WB is planning then you can expect fans to hit peak hype levels faster than a speeding bullet.

Last Updated: May 7, 2020