When Black Adam finally brought Henry Cavill back, fans were ecstatic to see DCEU’s Superman return, but unfortunately, the movie itself failed to make it big at the box office. Shortly after, WBD hired James Gunn and Peter Safran to salvage the DC brand, which led to the duo scrapping the struggling DCEU in favor of a fresh start.
While many would agree DC desperately needed this reboot, some fans were disheartened following Henry Cavill’s exit, as Gunn opted for a younger actor to play DCU’s version of Clark Kent. As a result, some started accusing the new DC head of screwing over Cavill, and Gunn finally broke his silence on the matter.
James Gunn Debunks Conspiracy Theory Surrounding Henry Cavill’s Exit
Before James Gunn made his DC debut with The Suicide Squad, he was offered to helm a Superman project, which he initially rejected. Not long after dropping the idea, the director eventually agreed to tackle the iconic superhero months before Black Adam made its way to theatres. Moreover, Gunn’s Superman was intended to be its own separate entity, similar to Matt Reeves’ The Batman, before the reboot ensued.
So when a fan presented the conspiracy theory of them being lied about Henry Cavill‘s return and Gunn always “intending on always screwing over Cavill”, Gunn reasonably debunked this. The director once again clarified that the reason he decided to run DC was because of Peter Safran, who will look over the “exec stuff” in the new DCU.
He stated:
“I don’t quite understand how that fits. Aside from the fact I had no interest in running DC until Peter decided to do it with me so he could do the exec stuff & I could focus on creative, when I was hired to write Superman it was always intended as & pitched as a new Superman story, so why would I lie about not planning that at the Squad premiere which would have amounted to the same thing at the end of the day? How does this particular conspiracy theory make sense?”
Keeping in mind that every DCEU release since Black Adam has struggled at the box office, pulling the plugs off the old universe was arguably the best decision.
DCU Will Not Follow in X-Men ‘97’s Footsteps Said James Gunn
While the old DCEU is dead and buried, following the recent success of X-Men ‘97, fans were speculating if DC too would jump on the trend and revive the acclaimed Justice League Unlimited.
However, per Gunn, DCU has no such intentions, as the DC head explained the only reason X-Men ’97 became such a major success was because it didn’t try to copy the trends around it.
He stated:
“X-Men ’97 is fun because it’s unique and not desperately trying to follow the trends of everything around it. So I’d rather just keep doing that.”
On the bright side, the DCU under Gunn is set to lay heavy emphasis on the animation department, as characters would often jump ships from one medium to another, starting with Creature Commandos.
Superman will open in theatres on 11 July 2025.
