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James Gunn Recalls Telling Henry Cavill He Wasn't Returning as Superman: 'It Was Really Unfair to Him'
James Gunn Recalls Telling Henry Cavill He Wasn't Returning as Superman: 'It Was Really Unfair to Him'

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • Yahoo

James Gunn Recalls Telling Henry Cavill He Wasn't Returning as Superman: 'It Was Really Unfair to Him'

James Gunn is shedding light on the moment he had to tell Henry Cavill he was not returning to play Superman. During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, the DC Studios boss briefly broke down the confusing timeline that saw Cavill announce he was set to reprise the character before announcing roughly two months later that he was not moving forward in Gunn's superhero universe. More from The Hollywood Reporter Box Office: 'Superman' Crosses $200M Domestically, Targets $56M-$57M Second Weekend James Gunn Says Casting for New Wonder Woman Hasn't Started Yet But Film Is a "Priority" When Did Superman Become So Controversial? 'We were dealing with trying to figure out if we could take the job at DC Studios, and we're talking to David Zaslav and all the legal people there, and figuring out what our deals would be,' he recalled. 'And the day our deal closed, all of a sudden they were announcing that Henry was back.' Gunn admitted that he was taken aback by the news. 'I'm like, what is going on? Like, we know what the plan is, the plan was to come in and do Superman,' he said, referring to the new 2025 film that sees David Corenswet take on the titular role. 'That was really unfortunate, I'm like, this poor guy. And so Peter [Safran] and I [knew] the right thing to do is to sit down with [Cavill] and talk to him,' he said. 'And we sat down, we talked to him, he was an absolute gentleman, a great guy about it. He said, 'The only thing I ask is that I'm able to reveal it myself as opposed to it coming from you guys.'' Of breaking the news to Cavill, the Guardians of the Galaxy writer-director said 'it was really unfair to him and was a total bummer,' but there were outside influences who 'wanted to take on what they wanted to do at DC and were trying to force their way and it just was never a part of the equation.' Despite not returning to lead Gunn's Superman, Cavill and Corenswet were in communication before the latter Man of Steel took on the iconic role. 'I had the pleasure of exchanging letters with two previous Supermans, Henry Cavill and Tyler Hoechlin. Both of them, interestingly, sort of said in their own words, 'I'm not gonna try to give you any tips,'' Corenswet said at the film's London premiere. 'They were very encouraging and we had a lovely exchange. … I'm excited to meet them one day, it'll be great when we can all get in a room together.' At the tailend of their conversation about Cavill, host Horowitz asked if it'd be 'too confusing' to recast the actor in Gunn's DC Universe, to which he responded, 'No, as another character? Absolutely not. I talked to him about it on that day. I would love to put Henry in something.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Greatest Needle Drops in Film History The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best

‘Superman' Box Office Topping $400 Million Total Worldwide Box Office
‘Superman' Box Office Topping $400 Million Total Worldwide Box Office

Forbes

time9 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • Forbes

‘Superman' Box Office Topping $400 Million Total Worldwide Box Office

After excellent weekday numbers, DC Studios is celebrating as Superman is on its way to saving the day with a big $400 million total after its second weekend at the worldwide box office. Rachel Brosnahan and David Corenswet star in "Superman." While slightly lower than more bullish estimates, including my own, the primary question was whether Superman had enough power to make it past $400 million this second weekend of release, which puts it on a steady course to cruise past $500 million and prove 'DC is back.' We'll see precisely how far beyond that figure Superman can climb, but for now this is two weekends in a row of good news and good numbers for the studio. Superman Saves The Day Writer-director and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn should be flying high on not only the successful debut of a new era for DC, but also the widespread critical and mainstream public embrace of Superman. He made Superman likeable, relatable, and relevant again, and gave us a helluva fun time doing it. But it was always going to be hard for one film to revive not just Superman's own suffering brand, but also DC's entire cinematic reputation and financial future. This was almost a job for a Mission: Impossible team, but despite all of the baggage and odds, Gunn made the right choices and trusted people's hearts to respond to the innate goodness and kindness of the character. It was a leap of faith, and there was no guarantee anyone would be there to catch him. But that's what was on the line, however much it was understandably necessary to downplay that reality ahead of opening weekend (for one's own emotional sanity alone, let alone from a business perspective to manage expectations). Had Superman failed to gain altitude and wound up somewhere in similar box office territory with the previous nine failed DCEU cinematic efforts, it's unlikely that everything would have proceeded according to plan. A $400-450 million finish would've been a sign of such deep global mainstream audience rejection of DC and Superman that even what is arguably the best possible cinematic version to win everybody over again couldn't overcome the disinterest and distrust. And at that point, I suspect any projects not already in production would've been 'paused' while a big reassessment took place, potentially for example pivoting toward Matt Reeves' The Batman franchise as a last chance to lay some foundations for a larger cinematic world around the character and the superheroes around him (Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing) as well as villains worthy of their own films and HBO series. Meanwhile, they could halt further development on the rest of the DC slate and decide to license some bundled characters off to various other studios, or just take the pain of waiting for Reeves to complete his first Batman trilogy and then attempt to introduce a smaller slate of DC heroes – Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, and a few others – as the basis for a smaller new DCU founded on The Batman world. Which would be akin to an alternate reality where 2013's Man of Steel was released to expand The Dark Knight Trilogy into an entire DCEU, which would've all but certainly have made at least the first few films much bigger grossers and potentially provided a stable enough and lucrative enough DCEU to have survived. The chance for a do-over at that approach, if the DCU launch with Superman had failed, would seem too tempting to ignore. Perhaps even trying to keep David Corenswet in the Superman role and merely retooling the world around him and the rest of the DCU toward something more like The Batman. Or maybe it's more likely they'd decide to expand out The Batman into a bat-world, but without too many other heroes. Some characters like Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, Catwoman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and similar non-powered heroes could work as spinoffs. Then, they could simply treat Superman and others as standalone solo franchises instead of a shared world, which might mean a lot of licensing deals for those characters instead of further attempts at reboots that drown in red ink. That all means of course that, had Superman not enjoyed so much acclaim and family love translating into the box office numbers it needed to claim success, DC Studios still had some strong go-to options in their bag of tricks. That wouldn't erase the financial pain involved, nor would it make up for the rejection of Superman despite doing pretty much everything exactly right – I will say again, if audiences aren't going to show up and reward this Superman movie, there's probably no movie the studio could've made and released that would've worked at this point. Superman Luckily for the studio, none of that happened (although many of us still also hope Matt Reeves is allowed to continue his bat-world and expand it as long as WBD and DC Studios can convince him to do it), and Superman is off to a good start with lots of room to build and score much higher box office in the future. So with $400 million under his belt, DC's iconic hero has risen to the first two challenges, and faces just one more weekend to confirm how bright an already sunny future will be. The next big test to see if Superman has fully regained his box office powers comes next weekend, with Fantastic Four headed for what appears to be opening around $120 million in my estimations. While most tracking points to a roughly $105 million debut for Marvel's 2025 tentpole, I expect it to overperform against expectations similar to Superman, but with much better international ticket sales. Superman needs to hold well against the MCU's challenger, if it wants to do more than just dive across the $500 million finish line. After this weekend, it needs at least another $100 million globally, so a third weekend total cume of about $465-475 is where we want to see it if there's to be any chance at reaching $600 million. Superman should easily pass $500 million at this rate, so now we wait to see it's hold against Fantastic Four: First Steps next weekend, and whether the Man of Steel can fly higher toward $600 million or wind up at still safe but less impressive $550 million territory. Stay tuned for updates and check this space again soon.

James Gunn on Henry Cavill's Superman exit: 'It was really unfair to him and a total bummer'
James Gunn on Henry Cavill's Superman exit: 'It was really unfair to him and a total bummer'

Mint

time10 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • Mint

James Gunn on Henry Cavill's Superman exit: 'It was really unfair to him and a total bummer'

As actor David Corenswet has donned the iconic red cape in James Gunn's upcoming 'Superman' film, fans of the DC Universe may still have reason to hope for the return of Henry Cavill—just not as Clark Kent. In a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, DC Studios co-head James Gunn opened up about the difficult conversation he had with Cavill when he and Peter Safran took over the reins of DC Studios in 2022. Reflecting on the situation, Gunn revealed his admiration for Cavill and left the door open for the actor's future in the franchise. 'It's terrible. Believe it or not, the day we were dealing with trying to figure out if we could take the job at DC Studios,' recalled Gunn. 'The day the deal closed, all of a sudden, they were announcing that Henry was back. And I was like, 'What is going on? We know what the plan is. The plan was to come in and do Superman.' It was really unfair to him and a total bummer.' According to Gunn, the circumstances surrounding their appointment were less than ideal, with various competing visions for the DC brand at the time. 'There was a vacuum at the time and a lot of people were… They had a take on what they wanted to do at DC and they were trying to force their way and it was just never part of the equation for [WBD CEO] David Zaslav,' said Gunn. 'We came in, and that was really unfortunate. I'm like, 'This poor guy.'' Despite the upheaval, Gunn emphasised Cavill's professionalism and grace when they informed him of the decision to move in a different direction. 'He was an absolute gentleman and a great guy about it,' Gunn shared. 'He said, 'The only thing I ask is that I'm able to reveal it myself as opposed to coming from you guys.' And I'm like, 'That's a class act.'' Though Cavill will not be reprising his role as Superman, Gunn confirmed discussions were had about future opportunities within the restructured DCU. 'I talked to him about it on that day. I would love to put Henry in something,' said Gunn. The upcoming 'Superman' film, starring Corenswet, will be the first official instalment of the new DC Universe, kicking off its 'Gods and Monsters' phase under the creative vision of Gunn and Safran. While Cavill's time as the Man of Steel may be over, fans can still hold out hope for his return to the DC world in a brand-new role.

Superman director James Gunn reveals 'terrible' way Henry Cavill was fired from DC
Superman director James Gunn reveals 'terrible' way Henry Cavill was fired from DC

Daily Mirror

time10 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • Daily Mirror

Superman director James Gunn reveals 'terrible' way Henry Cavill was fired from DC

Superman director James Gunn recalled the 'terrible' way Henry Cavill was fired from his role as iconic superhero, Clark Kent Superman director James Gunn revealed the "terrible" way Henry Cavill was fired from his role as the iconic superhero. The Scooby Doo director was hired by Warner Bros to oversee the studio's DC movies after a series of failed projects, and one of his first jobs was to hire a new actor to take on the role of Clark Kent. ‌ However, Warner Bros rashly told Henry he would come back as the beloved comic book character, leaving James the job of telling him he was actually fired. During his appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Guardians of the Galaxy director James said Henry was treated "unfairly" by the studio. ‌ ‌ 'It's terrible – believe it or not, the day we were dealing with trying to figure out if we could take the job at DC Studios, the day the deal closed, all of a sudden, they were announcing that Henry was back," he explained. 'I was like, 'What is going on? We know what the plan is. The plan was to come in and do Superman. It was really unfair to him and a total bummer.' James, whose Superman reboot was recently released, said: "There was a vacuum at the time and a lot of people had a take on what they wanted to do at DC and they were trying to force their way and it was just never part of the equation. ‌ 'We came in, and that was really unfortunate. I'm like, 'This poor guy.'' Thankfully, Henry took the difficult news like an "absolute gentleman", as James praised the actor. 'He said, the only thing I ask is that I'm able to reveal it myself as opposed to coming from you guys.' And I'm like, 'That's a class act'," James added before saying he wants to work with Henry in a DC film in the future. ‌ The current Clark Kent is David Corenswet, who recently admitted he tried to think of reasons not to take on the iconic role. In a recent interview, David revealed there was a moment he was hesitant about taking the role. 'A role like Superman seems like something that everybody would want, and that's not true. There are some people who wouldn't want that role and who would, if given the opportunity, say no. I am obviously not one of those people," he told GQ Hype. "But I certainly tried to think of reasons not to. Ultimately, what I landed on for myself was, if this is the only role I get to play for the rest of my life, and that means whether I get to play it once or get to play it 10 times, would I still say yes? And the answer was yes." ‌ During the same interview, director James discussed the box office pressure on the movie and said the movie "isn't the riskiest endeavour in the world". It was reported online that the movie would need to earn $700 million minimum to be successful, but James called the reports "just complete and utter nonsense".

‘It's Terrible': Here's How Henry Cavill Reacted to Him Getting Replaced in Superman
‘It's Terrible': Here's How Henry Cavill Reacted to Him Getting Replaced in Superman

Pink Villa

time12 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • Pink Villa

‘It's Terrible': Here's How Henry Cavill Reacted to Him Getting Replaced in Superman

Henry Cavill portrayed the role of Superman in the DC universe for the longest time. While the actor impressed the audience and the fans with his iconic role, he was replaced by David Corenswet in the newly released Superman, directed by James Gunn. Following the release of the Corenswet-Rachel Brosnahan starrer, the DC co-head revealed how Cavill reacted to the news of recasting. While making an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the filmmaker shared that the actor was 'absolutely a gentleman' about the news. James Gunn reveals Henry Cavill's reaction to recasting of Superman Previously, Gunn had revealed that the reason he and Peter Safran went with Corenswet for the casting of the superhero is because they wanted a younger-looking Superman. While sitting down for a conversation in the podcast episode, the director shared that he had a hard time stepping in as a co-head of the DC studios. He said, 'It's terrible. Believe it or not, the day we were dealing with trying to figure out if we could take the job at DC Studios.' The filmmaker further added, 'The day the deal closed, all of a sudden, they were announcing that Henry was back. And I was like, 'What is going on? We know what the plan is. The plan was to come in and do Superman.' It was really unfair to him and a total bummer.' Elsewhere in the talks with the podcast host, Gunn shared that Cavill took the news of him getting replaced in Superman in a very calm way. The DC boss shared, 'He was an absolute gentleman and a great guy about it.' The director continued, 'He said, 'The only thing I ask is that I'm able to reveal it myself as opposed to coming from you guys.' And I'm like, 'That's a class act.'' Will Henry Cavill and James Gunn work together in the future? Though David Corenswet stepped into the shoes of Henry Cavill in Superman and is being lauded by the audience, James Gunn hinted at the possibility of him working with Henry Cavill. He said, 'I talked to him about it on that day. I would love to put Henry in something.' As for the latest film that released in theaters on July 11, Superman marks the beginning of the Gods and Demons phase in the DC Universe.

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