As James Gunn DCU takes off the ground, fans are speculating what roles Gunn might have planned for Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel gears up for another innings in the red cape. The news of Henry Cavill joining the DCU gained traction after Gunn responded to a fan Thread query about his take on comic continuity and cinematic canon.
Gunn responded that he isn’t much concerned about canon as most of the greatest DC stories aren’t canon. This statement sparked rumors of Henry Cavill returning to DCU as Superman: Red Son.
Curious Case of Canon
The debate of canon vs non-canon has been a longstanding issue within the comic book community. However, James Gunn has now settled this debate when it comes to DCU. Gunn responded to a fan query on Threads,
“I consider whatever I’m reading ‘true’ in the moment I’m reading it!.” As for canon, I’m not in charge of mainstream DC Comics continuity – just that of the DCU (which will intersect & sway away & intersect again etc with DC comics). These characters are all myths & I really enjoy the variations on them – especially when the artists understand the core of what I believe makes a character great & understands their history while offering a new spin.”
Additionally, when asked about fans who focus too much on what’s canon and what’s not, Gunn said,
“So true. At least half of the top ten greatest DC stories aren’t canon.”
Due to this statement, fans have started speculating that the new DCU may explore stories like Elseworld and Dark Knight Metal. This means we might get to see Henry Cavill don the red cape again, obviously with a Russian accent.
Talking about DCU canon and its relation with DCEU, Gunn posted on X stating,
” Nothing is canon until Creature Commandoes next year- a sort of aperitif to the DCU – & then a deeper dive into the the universe with Superman: Legacy after that, it’s a very human drive to want to understand everything all the time, but I think its okay to be confused on what’s happening in the DCU since no on has seen everything from the DCU yet.”
Son of Krypton Turns Comrade Superman
Henry Cavill’s stint as Superman ended terribly, as Cavill’s last appearance was a disappointing cameo in Black Adam. However, there is a glimmer of hope as James Gunn not only insinuated adapting storylines that are not canon to the prime DC universe but also the involvement of past DCEU actors.
Gunn tweeted,
“And yes, some actors will be playing characters they’ve played in others stories & some plot points might be consistent with plot points from the dozens of films, shows & animated projects that have come from DC in the past. But nothing is canon until CC and Legacy.”
This opens the door for Cavill to play Superman: Red Son, a version of Superman who lands in Russia instead of the US. The storyline also features a Russian Batman hell-bent on destroying Superman and Lex Luthor as President of the United States.
