“There may be an inner cowboy to me”: Henry Cavill Could Be the Best Addition to Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’ Universe as Matthew McConaughey Deal Still Hangs in the Air

Henry Cavill’s unilateral rise… and fall in the movie business has been documented extensively by the fans and critics alike. Despite his fervent popularity and global stardom, the A-list actor has hardly accrued a major blockbuster to his name that, despite doing well commercially, did not end up falling under the critics’ hellhole.

Apart from playing second fiddle to Tom Cruise and a teenager on Netflix, Cavill fell victim to a pop-culture phenomenon due to a wildly controversial and divisive trilogy that broke up a franchise, pushed a 100-year-old studio to the brink of bankruptcy, and catalyzed a restructuring and complete reboot of the said studio system.

Without a proper business plan to ease along his path toward an enduring career, Henry Cavill lies dormant in public memory, living off of his glory days and nurturing the possibility of a great future in cinema. For now, the only legacy he leaves behind is a failed Superman arc, an incomplete Witcher saga, and an unrealized Bond adaptation.

Pop Culture’s Love-Hate Relationship With Henry Cavill

The Hollywood studio system is going through some turmoil in its recent phase. The old guard that had been put to sleep (Brendan Fraser, Ke Huy Quan) is seeing a comeback while the newer stars are deliberately pushing themselves under the shadow of their predecessors (Glen Powell re-enacting Top Gun and Twister fame).

The remaining section of the industry that is not being annexed by the superhero business stands to tell a story. Filled with original ideas and colorful theories, actors like Paul Mescal and Sydney Sweeney are making surprising headway in the field of independent cinema in a world overrun by blockbuster franchises.

One such victim of the big-budget studio system is Henry Cavill who, despite his ability to be a crowd-puller, has been consistently let down by the choices that were made for him. Be it the DCEU, The Witcher, Argylle, or The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare — the cards were not dealt in his favor for the past 11 years. And yet, Cavill’s popularity has seemingly increased in direct proportion to his infamous movie flops.

Despite constantly being badgered by one critical failure after another (Argylle), surrounded by controversy (DCEU and Black Adam cameo), and in-house politics (The Witcher and WB), Henry Cavill has walked out of the fire a new man, bolstered by the negativity around him that only made fans fall more in love with him. He was crucified by Warner Bros. and turned into a martyr-saint by Netflix’s Witcher.

Henry Cavill: The Renaissance Man

After being ousted from the Casino Royale audition for being too young in 2005 and being canceled out of the Bond Odds for being too old after 2021, Henry Cavill has become one of the few straight White men for whom the outpouring of mass sympathy never feels undeserved or woefully misplaced.

Cavill’s renaissance occurs outside the public view as people unwittingly cheer for him to succeed, no matter which project he ends up undertaking. Currently, that involves appearing in bite-sized cameos, prepping for his role as a new dad, and the construction of his Warhammer Cinematic Universe. However, given the lack of steady job options at hand, there might be a role better suited to him at this stage in his stalled career.

During a live Q&A session from the promotional tour of Mission: Impossible — Fallout, Henry Cavill eked out a reply after being asked whether he would ever consider doing a movie as a Southern cowboy.

I would love to play a cowboy, absolutely. I like country music and I have this weird connection with all things cowboy. I think there may be an inner cowboy to me.

As it happens, Taylor Sheridan is short of one lead actor in his Yellowstone spin-off universe. Considering how Sheridan has redefined the cowboy genre and is one of the most coveted filmmakers in Hollywood right now, his pairing with Henry Cavill is an absolute no-brainer.

As for Matthew McConaughey, the Oscar winner has been circling a potential role while tossing and turning over Sheridan’s proposed deal, with no clear intention of whether he intends to settle the negotiations anytime soon.

With Yellowstone coming to a close and two more spin-offs on the way, Henry Cavill seems like the most obvious choice at this point with the physicality, looks, work ethic, and enthusiasm to match Sheridan’s own.

Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 is set to launch in November 2024.

Its in-universe expansion with integer-heavy spin-offs titled 1944 and 2024 has not yet been slated for release.