James Gunn is setting up a new DC Universe with fresh faces

Over the years many actors have portrayed DC’s comic book superhero Superman on the big screen. Henry Cavill was the last actor to play the role in Zack Snyder’s DC movies and Snyder had a very good reason to hire him. It is not easy to conclude which star gave the best iteration of the character as all of them have their own sets of pros and cons but it’s safe to say that all of them played a huge role in making the character popular today.

Henry Cavill with Zack Snyder
With Snyder and Cavill out, the co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn has been setting up a new DC Universe with fresh faces. Gunn will be directing 2025’s Superman: Legacy, which will introduce a new actor as the iconic character.

Zack Snyder explained why he hired Henry Cavill

Henry Cavill and Zack Snyder on the sets of Man of Steel
Director Zack Snyder introduced actor Henry Cavill as his Superman in 2013’s Man of Steel. Around the time of the film’s release, Snyder appeared for an interview with E! News and explained why he chose Cavill,

“He’s not horribly ugly. He wasn’t in bad shape. And then he’s a great actor but he also has this other thing, this kind of earnest awesomeness that’s unexplainable. And that’s what you look for. I think with Superman you can’t hope for anything more than to have that extra thing that makes him special.”
After Man of Steel, Cavill went on to play Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Justice League (2017), and Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021). He had uncredited cameos in Black Adam (2022) and The Flash (2023).

Zack Snyder was sure Henry Cavill was fit for the role when he wore Christopher Reeve’s suit

Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill
Further in the interview, Snyder revealed that they did not have the new suit when Cavill was screen testing for the role, so they decided to give him Christopher Reeve’s old suit,
“The clincher was our suit wasn’t ready so we were doing a screen test. And we put him in the old Christopher Reeve suit ’cause it’s all we had and even though that suit was many years old, he put it in and stepped out of that trailer and everyone was in awe of him. And we knew at that moment that he was our Superman.”
Cavill did an outstanding job playing the character but unfortunately, his time in the franchise has officially ended. Now, fans are waiting for James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, which will hit the theatres in 2025.