For the past couple of years, the Hollywood rumor mill has been filled with stories about Henry Cavill’s management renegotiating his Superman contract with Warner Bros. When Ben Affleck departed the role of Batman and the DC Extended Universe charged ahead with a wholly new take on the character, it seemed inevitable that Cavill would eventually vacate the role of Superman.
But nothing has been confirmed, and Cavill is still technically the DCEU’s Superman, at least for the foreseeable future. So, here are five reasons why Henry Cavill should be replaced as Superman, and five why he should keep the role.
10 Replace Cavill: His Take On Superman Is Too Dark
The Superman played by Henry Cavill doesn’t really feel like Superman at all. He’s unsure if he wants to do the right thing, and he’s a murderer, and he’s brooding and mopey, and his color palette is bleak and muted, and the tone of his stories is dark and gloomy.
Most of this was a result of the creative direction that Zack Snyder took him in, but as long as that’s how Cavill’s Superman has been characterized, there’s not much hope for a more faithful movie in the future.
9 Keep Cavill: He Could Adapt To A Lighter Tone
A lot of the weirdest moments in Justice League are the result of Warner Bros. hiring Joss Whedon to add some Whedon-style banter to grimy, bleak action set pieces that Zack Snyder directed.
It didn’t work, but Cavill’s performance changes drastically between scenes that were clearly directed by Snyder (like when he punches Wonder Woman into the ground) and scenes that were clearly directed by Whedon (like when he weirdly laughs at the end of a fight). If Warner Bros. rebooted the character with a lighter tone without replacing the actor, Cavill could adapt to the new style.
8 Replace Cavill: Michael B. Jordan Could Be An Interesting Choice
Michael B. Jordan has reportedly met with Warner Bros. to pitch his own take on the Superman character. He doesn’t want to play the character right away, because he has a few projects coming up, but he’s proposed some ideas to the studio executives.
Jordan is one of the finest actors of the current generation – delivering knockout performances in The Wire, Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, and Just Mercy – and he has charm and likability in spades.
7 Keep Cavill: He Needs The Right Director
Henry Cavill worked closely with Zack Snyder to bring the Superman character to life in a unique way. The problem there – particularly with Man of Steel – was that Snyder’s gloomy, cynical style wasn’t suited to the bright-eyed, hopeful world of Superman. Superman needs a director who won’t shy away from the cock-eyed glass-half-full optimist in Clark Kent and will instead embrace it.
Cavill reportedly prepared a pitch for a Superman reboot with his Mission: Impossible – Fallout director Christopher McQuarrie, but it was rejected by the studio. Matthew Vaughn also wants to take a stab at the property, which could be interesting.
6 Replace Cavill: His “Trilogy” Is Complete
If you look at Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League as the DCEU’s Superman trilogy, he has a pretty complete arc. Across those three movies, we saw Superman’s origin story, his first fatal mistake, the consequences of that mistake, his death, his resurrection, and his redemption.
The three films also developed the character’s romance with Lois Lane and his relationship with Martha Kent. There’s nowhere else to go with this version of Superman. The best course of action is probably a total reboot, a la Matt Reeves’ The Batman, with the role being recast.
5 Keep Cavill: He Hasn’t Been In A Really Good Superman Movie Yet
Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Evans could comfortably step down from their superhero roles, because they each got to play an emotionally charged arc across a few great movies.
But Henry Cavill hasn’t starred in a really good Superman movie yet. He’s played the character three times, but each movie was a disappointment. Cavill deserves to star in at least one good Superman movie before being canned.
4 Replace Cavill: It’ll Make New Seasons Of The Witcher Come Faster
The reasoning here is kind of selfish, but if Henry Cavill stays in the DCEU, then he’ll have to divide his time between playing Superman and playing Geralt.
Netflix’s new serialized adaptation of The Witcher video games has been a huge hit with fans, and if Cavill is replaced as Superman, he’ll have more time to shoot new seasons and they’ll arrive on the streaming service faster.
3 Keep Cavill: Fans Love Him
While Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League have received a lot of backlash as movies, very few fans would argue that Henry Cavill is a great actor who’s well-suited to the role of Superman.
If he chooses to freely to depart his DC role like Ben Affleck did, that’s another story, but fans would’ve been up for more Batfleck, and they’re up for more Cav-El. As long as DC fans love Cavill as Superman, there’s no reason to replace him.
2 Replace Cavill: The DCEU’s New Batman Will Need A New Superman
Matt Reeves’ The Batman has been announced as a standalone movie set in a wider fictional universe. Robert Pattinson’s revamped version of Bruce Wayne will need a revamped version of Clark Kent to complement him.
The Batman opposite Henry Cavill’s Superman – as enemies and later as allies – was Batfleck. Putting him in a movie with a different Dark Knight would be weird.
1 Keep Cavill: He’s Perfect For The Part
To play Superman on the big screen requires a certain degree of nerdy charm that’s tough to pull off. But Henry Cavill nails it. He has the perfect look and performing style to play Clark Kent, and he’s proven that time and time again throughout the DCEU, despite the poorly written scripts he’s been forced to work from.
The problems with the DCEU’s Superman don’t really have anything to do with Cavill, so it wouldn’t be logical – or fair – to remove a well-cast actor from a role that they were born to play when the character’s controversies are unrelated to their contributions.
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