(Henry Cavill’s) Superman returns. | Image: Henry Cavill on Instagram
Henry Cavill is letting people know that he’s not done playing Superman (via The Hollywood Reporter). In an Instagram post on Monday, he posted a promotional image of himself as the superhero, along with a video where he says, “I am back as Superman.” His announcement comes after he made a cameo appearance in Black Adam, DC’s latest movie, and as we’re starting to hear reports that a sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel is in the works.
In his video, Cavill calls the image and his appearance in Black Adam “just a very small taste of what’s to come.” The caption also references “the dawn of hope renewed” and says that people’s patience will be rewarded.
Despite years of rumors that Cavill was no longer going to play Superman (which continued to swirl as recently as this summer), there wasn’t really any official announcement that Cavill had given up the role. However, as he’s starred in movies like Mission: Impossible — Fallout and shows like The Witcher, we’ve seen Superman show up less and less in DC Extended Universe movies. Before Black Adam, the character’s last appearance was a few-second shot in 2019’s Shazam! (though Cavill wasn’t actually the person wearing the suit)… as long as you don’t count his role in 2021’s rework of Justice League, which mainly relied on footage shot for the original 2017 version.
It’ll likely be a while before Cavill’s Superman returns to theaters, as Man of Steel 2 or whatever it ends up being called is still in very early development, with no director or writers publicly attached. It’s always possible he’ll show up in some of DC’s 2023 movies, which include films about Shazam, The Flash, Aquaman, and Blue Beetle, but for now, fans can hang onto the hope (or dread, given how you feel about his performance) that Cavill will be donning the cape once again.