Syfy Insider Exclusive

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!

Sign Up For Free to View
SYFY WIRE Superman

Henry Cavill ‘would absolutely’ don Superman’s cape for DC once again

Never say never: “As I always say, ‘The cape is still in the closet.’”

By Benjamin Bullard
Zack Snyder's Justice League

DC’s comic book heroes have had their share of recent big-screen splashes, with James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984 debuting in just the past year alone. Even Shazam! and Aquaman are still relatively fresh in fans’ memories, with sequels to both hit films already deep in development. And of course Robert Pattinson's March 2022 The Batman debut is mere months away.

But it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything firm from Warner Bros. and DC on future movie plans for perhaps the biggest superhero name of them all: Clark Kent, aka Superman.

For actor Henry Cavill, who’s already donned Superman’s cape three times (for Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League), the future remains wide open for him to reprise his role as Krypton’s most famous hero…even if it means sharing screen space with other Superman actors in DC’s diverging TV and movie storylines.

Speaking recently with The Hollywood Reporter, Cavill enthusiastically confessed he “would absolutely love the opportunity” to play Superman again, and even embraced the idea that there’s room for more than one actor to take up the Man of Steel’s mantle — a key outlook, considering that DC appears to have plans for a Superman movie featuring a Black actor wearing the spandex ("It’s exciting," said Cavill of DC's fresh direction. "Superman’s far more than skin color.")

"There is still a lot of storytelling for me to do as a Superman, and I would absolutely love the opportunity," Cavill explained. "The killing of Zod [in Man of Steel] gave a reason for the character never to kill again…He just killed the last remaining member of his species. That's the choice he made in that moment, and he'll never do that again. There's an opportunity for growth after that, to explore the psyche of Superman as a deep, seemingly invulnerable god-like being but with real feeling on the inside. As I always say, 'The cape is still in the closet.'"

Talk about being invested in your character. Whether it’s as Superman or Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s The Witcher, Cavill has a track record of approaching his heroic roles with the fervor of a true fan. Heck, he even has ideas on how Superman could evolve from the events of the previous Snyder-directed movies, should DC decide to go there.

"Superman is an ideal. Superman's an extraordinary thing that lives within our hearts," he said. "Why not have multiple Supermen going on? Joaquin Phoenix did a wonderful Joker movie; so what if it's not tied to the rest of [the franchise]? They have multiple Superman comic book storylines happening at the same time."

For now, the Man of Steel is flying high on the small screen at The CW, where Tyler Hoechlin stars alongside Elizabeth Tulloch as the iconic comic book-based duo of Superman & Lois. With a second season of the Arrowverse-connected series already green lit for a 2022 premiere, at least we know Cavill’s happy to have the additional company if DC does decide to summon him back to theaters for another Earth-saving big-screen adventure.