Celebrity Dirt

Celebrity Dirt

Celebrity Dirt

This morning, “Superman” was the number one trend on Twitter, and at least ten other related terms were trending, including “Man of Steel,” “Supes,” “Smallville,” “DC Universe” and “Warner Bros.” So, what’s going on with the Man Of Steel? Well, the Warner Brothers-owned DC Extended Universe of films has been in flux lately, to put it lightly. And Warner Brothers recently underwent a management change , leading to a rather big shake-up. But before we get to that, let’s talk about Henry Cavill.

Henry Cavill played Superman in three films: 2013’s Man Of Steel, 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017’s Justice League. After that, things seemed to unravel, with Cavill reportedly refusing to cameo in 2019’s Shazam. According to reports, that led to Cavill and DC parting ways. Cavill moved on to a starring role in Netflix’s series The Witcher.

However, earlier this year, Cavill cameoed as Superman in Black Adam, and he announced to fans that he was “back as Superman.” He even said that there was “more to come.” Soon after that, he announced that he was leaving his role in The Witcher, with fans speculating that this was because he’d be occupied with Superman-related projects. That is no longer the case.

So, what changed? In October, Warner Brothers announced that James Gunn and film producer/manager Peter Safran would be taking over DC Studios. Gunn became a major player in Hollywood after the success of the 2014 MCU film Guardians of the Galaxy. Gunn directed and co-wrote the film. Unlike many of the prior Marvel films, the Guardians were not a household name, yet the film was a box office smash. Per Box Office Mojo, the film grossed over $770 million against a $170 million budget.  2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 grossed over $860 million against a $200 million budget.

In 2017, however, Gunn was fired when his offensive tweets from 2008 and 2009 (which he’d apologized for in the past) were surfaced by a website called The Daily Caller, leading to Disney firing him. Soon after, Warner Brothers hired him to direct the 2021 DC film The Suicide Squad. That film lost money, grossing $168 million against a $185 million budget. However, it led to Gunn show running the HBO Max spinoff, 2022’s massively popular (and NSFW) Peacemaker. 

But Gunn directed both The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ and the upcoming The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. That’s because, in 2019, Disney rehired Gunn. Per Deadline, “After the firing, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn met with Gunn on multiple occasions to discuss the situation. Persuaded by Gunn’s public apology and his handling of the situation after, Horn decided to reverse course and reinstate Gunn. The social media messages were indefensible, but the filmmaker never did anything but blame himself for poor judgment… There were no reports that Gunn ever engaged in the behavior he lampooned.” However, Guardians Vol. 3 will be his last Marvel project, at least for the foreseeable future.

Gunn and Safran have been working on a plan for the next few years of DC films. Yesterday, both Gunn and Cavill announced that they had met and that Cavill won’t be playing Superman, at least not in the upcoming Superman film.

  • James Gunn: 'The character will not be played by Henry Cavill'

    In this tweet chain, Gunn says, “Among those on [DC’s upcoming film] slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.” He notes that the Superman project is a movie (as opposed to a HBO Max show). He says he’s been writing the film and is looking for a director.

  • Henry Cavill: "I will, after all, not be returning as Superman.'

    In a lengthy Instagram message, Cavill addressed the fans, saying that “After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to [Gunn and Safran’s] hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life. The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that. James and Peter have a universe to build. I wish them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck.”

    Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins recently posted a similar message when news broke that she won’t be part of the next film in that franchise. The fate of Wonder Woman star, Gal Gadot, is not known as press time.

  • So, why was 'Black Adam' trending?

    Mainly for two reasons: one, fans are upset that the last time they’ll see Cavill as Superman was in a brief cameo in that film. And also because there are rumors that Gunn and Safran and not going to do a second film in that franchise.

  • Who is "Captain Britain" and why was that trending?

    Captain Britain is basically the U.K.’s version of Captain America in Marvel Comics. There have been lots of rumors that Cavill will play the character in the MCU. However, Hayley Atwell has played a version of that character in Marvel’s animated series What If…? and also in this year’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.

  • Why was Christopher Reeve trending?

    Reeve, who died in 2004, is the much-beloved actor who played Superman in 1978’s Superman, 1980’s Superman II, 1983’s Superman III and 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Many fans feel that Cavill was the best Superman since Reeve.

  • 'James Bond' was trending. What does that have to do with anything?

    Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond ended with 2021’s No Time To Die. Fans are hoping that Cavill will be the next 007.

  • Why is 'Shazam' trending?

    Shazam 2: Fury of the Gods opens March 17, 2023, but fans are wondering about the franchise’s future after that.

  • Who is Hyperion?

    Hyperion is another Marvel character. He’s a member of the Squadron Supreme, Marvel’s obvious parody/tribute to DC’s Justice League. Hyperion was the Squadron Supreme’s version of Superman. Some fans are hoping to see Marvel doing a Squadron Supreme with Cavill as Hyperion, Ben Affleck as the Batman knockoff Nighthawk and Gal Gadot as the Wonder Woman character, Power Princess.

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