It’s similar to a new owner saying, “Not my quarterback, not my coach. I’m going to go with a new person. The withdrawal of Henry Cavill from the DC Extended Universe after James Gunn was named as DC’s co-CEO late last year has been discussed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. When asked about Cavill’s departure from the movie franchise by Variety’s senior culture and events editor Marc Malkin at the Oscars, Johnson responded, “All that I could do, and all that we could do when we were making Black Adam, was to put our best foot forward, surround ourselves with the best people, and deliver the best movie we could.”
It’s similar to when a pro football team’s quarterback and head coach win championships and a new owner comes in and says, “Not my coach, not my quarterback,” he continued. I’m going to go with a new person.
After discreetly recording a post-credit scene with Johnson for the Johnson-starring Black Adam in October, Cavill announced on social media that he will be coming back to the DC Extended Universe as Superman. Two months later, when it was revealed that James Gunn and Peter Safran had been named as the co-CEOs of DC pictures, Cavill’s remarks would be refuted.
Cavill’s Black Adam scene had already been shot, according to Gunn, and the franchise’s future focus will be on a younger Superman who is not Cavill. “I just met with James Gunn and Peter Safran, and I have some unfortunate news for you all. After all, I won’t be coming back as Superman,” stated Cavill at the time on Instagram. “This news isn’t the simplest to share after the studio instructed me to do so back in October, before they were hired, but that’s life, right? An event that takes place is the changing of the guard. I value that.
Black Adam won’t appear in [DC Studios’] initial chapter of the tale, Johnson would later clarify. However, it has been decided that DC and Seven Bucks [Johnson’s production firm] will keep looking into the best methods to use Black Adam in upcoming DC Multiverse chapters. “James and I have been friends for a long time, and we have always supported one another. It’s still the same, and I’ll always hope that DC (and Marvel) triumph and triumph handsomely.