DC Is Making a Young Superman Movie

The Man of Steel returns … but not the one you know.

New DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn confirmed on his Twitter account that the rumors are true and Henry Cavill’s return as Superman is over — and consisted entirely of his post-credits cameo in Black Adam. That’s because Gunn himself is working on the script for a new Superman movie that will not star Henry Cavill. (In his own social media posting, Cavill wrote ““this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life.”)

The reason the film won’t star Cavill is because, in Gunn’s words, “our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life.” Hence, no Cavill, who is 39 years old.

Gunn said he had a “great” meeting with Cavill, and they “talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.” He also revealed that he is writing this new Superman movie “and have been for a while.” But he said it’s not clear yet who will direct it ,meaning he might hand the script off to another director.

Ironically, when Cavill first debuted as Superman almost a decade ago in Man of Steel, it too was a movie that was focused on an earlier part of Superman’s life, showing how he went from a confused farm kid from Kansas to a demigod. But Gunn also said in another tweet that there is “no way” his movie will be an origin story for the character. (In yet another tweet, Gunn said he recently had a meeting with former Batman Ben Affleck about potentially directing an upcoming DC movie, and that they “just have to find the right project” for him.)

It’s been quite a roller coaster of ups and downs for DC fans lately. Less than two months after Cavill made his surprise return to DC he’s out once again. Affleck, who basically dropped out of making his own Batman movie, now might be returning for a new project. And Gunn said DC plans to announce more of their new projects early in 2023, so there’s more news to come.