Henry Cavill is back as Superman. Following a cameo in the post-credits scene of Black Adam, The Witcher actor confirmed his return to the role, via an Instagram video. “I wanted to make it official that I am back as Superman and the image you see in this post and what you saw in Black Adam are a very small taste of what’s to come,” he said, outlining his future in the DC Extended Universe. The update comes after reports from last week, which claimed that Warner Bros. was planning a sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel, and was looking for writers to realise the project.
The 39-year-old Cavill did not dive into further detail, but thanked fans for their everlasting support in making this a reality. “I promise it will be rewarded,” he concludes. Cavill’s last appearance as Superman was in 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League, after which, he was sidelined until Dwayne Johnson confirmed his return in the post-credits scene for Black Adam. Johnson has been super vocal about his desire to realise the heavyweight clash between him and Superman on the big screen, even claiming that the build-up is the “whole point” of the film.
Black Adam grossed an impressive $140 million (about Rs. 1,157 crore) at the global box office, during its opening weekend, heralding Cavill’s return to the franchise. In the brief sequence, Superman is seen stepping out of smoke and confronting Black Adam. But what’s even more interesting here is the theme choice, which is reminiscent of the classic John Williams’ score used for Christopher Reeves’ version of the character. Speaking to io9, Black Adam composer Lorne Balfe confirmed that the score was deliberately picked after long discussions — a far cry from the Hans Zimmer track used in Snyder’s version, hinting at Warner Bros.’ continued efforts at detaching itself from the director’s vision.
“That is such a difficult conversation because it’s dividing so many people. The way I look at it is that there was a lot of thought put into why that theme got chosen. It wasn’t just a random thought. So it’s very difficult,” Balfe said. “Thought went into it and why and there’s a relevance to it and I think that you’ll find that there’s… I just didn’t realize it was going to be such [a reaction].”
Fans were also quick to notice a change in hairstyle — both in the post-credits scene and the image featured in Cavill’s Instagram post. Instead of the slick, swooped-back hairstyle we saw in the Snydeverse, going forward, we might be getting a traditional look, with Superman fashioning his signature spit curl, akin to the comic books.
These updates come in the wake of an internal shakeup for the DC Films department, as Warner Bros. Discovery struggles to pin down its own version of Kevin Feige — the chief architect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — kickstarting a “reset” under a new team. Former head Walter Hamada has exited the studio, after overseeing Black Adam’s release. Reports from last week indicate that he denied Johnson’s plans to bring Cavill back to the mega-budget franchise. However, the disapproval drove Johnson to meet up with Warner Bros. Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, who approved his request.
Back in August, executive-turned-producer Dan Lin was reportedly in contention to replace Hamada as the head of DC Films, though nothing came of it. The producer is also involved in the upcoming Duffer Brothers’ live-action adaptation of Death Note for Netflix.