Henry Cavill has had some pretty iconic roles. First as Superman himself, then Napolean Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and August Walker in Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Not too long from now, Cavill will also be known for his performance as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher series. With The Witcher being renewed for a second season before the first drops, we have to ask: will Cavill ever return as Superman? It’s been two years since the controversial Justice League movie was released and we haven’t seen Cavill as Supes since. We almost had him in Shazam as a cameo, but they instead went with the headless horseman. It’s already known that Ben Affleck will not be reprising his role as Batman, but is this the case for Cavill as Clark Kent?
“The cape is in the closet. It’s still mine.” Cavill stated during an interview with Men’s Health.
Let’s consider that Cavill has fought for many roles that he’s been in. In the interview, which you can read here, it’s stated Cavill turned down many projects to get his dream job as Superman. Not only that, but he beat out 207 other actors to land the role as Geralt in The Witcher. While other comic-book actors fill their in-between time with low budget indie films, Cavill enjoys franchise-driven parts.
“I like that realm,” he says of both The Witcher and the larger fantasy-and-fandom culture it represents (Source: MH). “These characters matter a lot to people, and they matter a lot to me.”
Despite this, though; Cavill admits that he has not kept up with the comic-book world:
“I’ve been quite disconnected from all of this for quite a while. I’m very behind.”
Whether Cavill is playing Superman or Geralt, his workout regimen requires strict discipline and intense physical requirements. Cavill says that a large part of it is wanting to portray these characters correctly and do them justice:
“I’m representing important characters here. I don’t want to be a dumpy Geralt or a fat Superman.”
Henry continued about his workout, as well as commenting about working out with Ben Affleck:
“I know what it feels like to go from out of shape to in shape and [afterward] I’ll look at myself like, ‘Man, well done.’ It’s not like I’m a golden god—I’m just proud of what I achieved. And then you can take your clothes off in front of your significant other, and they’re like, ‘Goddamn, you look great!’ Like, ‘Yes! I’m making other people happy.’ ”
“I wouldn’t say we ‘worked out’ so much as I acted as Henry’s trainer,” jokes costar Ben Affleck of their time on Batman v Superman. “I really had to help him increase muscle mass—before my coaching, he looked like Gumby.”
He adds,
“In all honesty, we did work out together. And I hated it.”
During the interview, Cavill discussed the three films he played Superman in and ranked them:
Man of Steel? “A great starting point. If I were to go back, I don’t think I’d change anything.”
Batman v Superman? “Very much a Batman movie. And I think that realm of darkness is great for a Batman movie.”
Justice League? “It didn’t work.”
No, Henry, it did not.
Finally, Henry needed to comment about the speculation that he’s done as Superman. Considering his Fallout and Witcher schedule prevented him from having a cameo in Shazam, fans have rushed to say that he is no longer the superhero. He commented:
“I’m not just going to sit quietly in the dark as all this stuff is going on,” Cavill says of the rumors. “I’ve not given up the role. There’s a lot I have to give for Superman yet. A lot of storytelling to do. A lot of real, true depths to the honesty of the character I want to get into. I want to reflect the comic books. That’s important to me. There’s a lot of justice to be done for Superman. The status is: You’ll see.”
Again, you can read the entire interview by visiting Men’s Health. What do you think about Cavill’s comments?
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
