New Superman, new era for DC
Superman will indeed be back on the big screen. It just won’t be Henry Cavill. Wait, what?
It hasn’t even been a full two months since Cavill was seen with a big “S” on his chest in the “Black Adam” post-credits scene, having a square-jawed stare-down with Dwayne Johnson, correct? And Cavill announcing his return as Superman on social media?
Yes. That actually did happen. But the actor is now letting his millions of followers know the decision to bring him back as Superman has been shelved.
DC Studios’ newly named co-head James Gunn announced to his 1.4 million Twitter followers Wednesday that he is writing a new Superman movie that will feature a less experienced Clark Kent getting to know his way around the Daily Planet newsroom. The role will be recast to fit an earlier part of the superhero’s life. Gunn also said on Twitter he still doesn’t know who the director will be, but it seems possible that the film would kick-start a new and potentially connected cinematic universe for DC Studios. And the announcement, along with a flurry of news in the past week, shows that the new leadership of Gunn and his DC Studios co-head Peter Safran appears to be quite a turn from the previous regime.
It seems they figured it was best to rip the Superman Band-Aid off and move forward. Gunn also mentioned on Twitter that he and Cavill spoke to each other, and they didn’t rule out a potential return for the actor in another DC role somewhere down the line. That is if Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios don’t immediately swoop in with, say, a Captain Britain/ Excalibur script, which might be a perfect fit.
Gunn’s quick-draw Twitter fingers represent a new era at DC: namely, a superhero movie-making studio head who makes news on social media. Feige is not much of a tweeter, posting less than 200 times. Gunn isn’t an avid tweeter either (he’s kind of busy of late if you haven’t noticed), but he has established he’ll use social media to get the word out and occasionally debunk wild rumors in a genre that always has people throwing them around.
Cavill’s Superman news comes on the heels of director Patty Jenkins announcing she won’t be moving forward with a third Wonder Woman film at DC, putting into doubt the likelihood that Gal Gadot will return, as well. Gadot, despite the mixed reviews for “Wonder Woman 1984,” accomplished the seemingly impossible task of becoming a princess of Themyscira for a new generation in the shadow of Lynda Carter’s timeless portrayal. But it’s hard to see her moving forward in this role without Jenkins, and in a rethought DC movie universe.
Gunn has proven himself to be a dedicated comic book reader, making a name for himself in superhero cinema by writing and directing projects with characters that even the most hard-core fans overlook (Guardians of the Galaxy, Peacemaker, his Suicide Squad roster). His first big tweet as the head of DC Studios featured cover art from “Kingdom Come,” by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, arguably one of the greatest DC stories ever told. He wants everyone to know he knows where the good stuff is in the DC library. The pages of DC Comics currently have two incredible Wonder Women of color, Nubia and Yara Flor, who could serve as interesting options for Gunn as he builds his own Justice League.