James Gunn Reveals How Henry Cavill Reacted When Informed About Being Dropped From DC As Superman: It Was Unfair To Him

James Gunn revealed how he spoke to Henry Cavill about stepping away from Superman as DC Studios rebooted the franchise with David Corenswet. Calling Cavill a “gentleman” during the transition, Gunn hinted at Cavill’s possible return to future DCU projects. Superman (2025) has earned rave reviews.

Published by Ashish Kumar Singh
Last updated: July 20, 2025 19:18:53 IST

Following the success of ‘Superman’, director James Gunn opened up on how he convinced Henry Cavill to sit out from the ‘Superman’ film franchise ahead of casting David Cornswet in the latest DC Studios’ superhero project.

During a recent appearance on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, as quoted by Variety, the “Superman” director explained that as his deal to take over DC Studios was finalised, it was announced that Cavill would reprise his role as the Man of Steel.

However, according to Gunn, it was already decided that he would helm a new ‘Superman’ film with a new actor, which created an “unfair” situation for Cavill.

“The day our [DC] deal closed, all of a sudden, they were announcing that Henry was back. And I’m like, ‘What is going on?’ We know what the plan is. The plan was to come in and do ‘Superman.’ So it was really unfair to him and a total bummer,” said Gunn as quoted by Variety.

Gunn added that the miscommunication was due to a sector of the studio trying to “force” their own vision of DC, which was “never part of the equation.” To solve the misunderstanding, the director decided to disclose the truth to Henry Cavill by talking to him.

“So, that was really unfortunate. Peter and I [thought] the right thing to do was to sit down with [Cavill] and talk to him. And we sat down and we talked to him. He was an absolute gentleman, a great guy about it.

He said, ‘The only thing I ask is that I’m able to reveal it myself as opposed to it coming from you guys,'” said James Gunn as quoted by Variety.

Gunn also hinted at the possibility of casting Henry Cavill in future DCU movies.

While Cavill starred as the Man of Steel across three DC films from 2013 to 2017, David Corenswet took over the role for Gunn’s DCU debut feature ‘Superman,’ which released July 11.

Other cast members for that film include Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor), Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen), Anthony Carrigan (Metamorpho), Edi Gathegi (Mister Terrific), Nathan Fillion (Guy Gardner) and Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl).

The film has garnered positive reviews from critics and viewers alike.

(With inputs from ANI)

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