Henry Cavill Speaks out on ‘Superman’ Reboot: ‘Sad News’

Henry Cavill is officially hanging up his cape. On Wednesday, it was reported that he will no longer be portraying Superman as previously thought. In response to the news, Cavill issued a statement to his fans on social media. Although, James Gunn and Peter Safran, the co-heads of DC Studios, did tease that this may not be the last you’ve seen of Cavill in the DC Universe. 

Cavill began his message by writing that he just had a meeting with Gunn and Safran about his future as Superman. Unfortunately, he received some “sad news” in that he will no longer portray the iconic character moving forward. Cavill wrote, “After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life. I respect that James and Peter have a universe to build. I wish them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes.”

Cavill then directed his message to the fans who have been by his side throughout his journey as Clark Kent. He wrote that there can be some mourning, but that they should also remember that “Superman is still around.” The actor continued, “Everything he stands for still exists, and the examples he sets for us are still there!” Cavill ended his message by writing that it’s been a “fun ride with you all, onwards and upwards.”

Just as Cavill mentioned, he previously announced in October that he would be returning to play Superman. Around that same time, he announced that he was leaving The Witcher, with many speculating that his departure was due to his role as the comic book hero. In any case, on Wednesday evening, Gunn shared that Cavill was out as Superman as they work on their slate of DC films. 

“Peter [and] I have a DC slate ready to go, which we couldn’t be more over-the-moon about; we’ll be able to share some exciting information about our first projects at the beginning of the new year,” he stated. “Among those on the slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill. But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.”