x
Breaking News
More () »

Why Henry Cavill not playing Superman anymore is alright

The truth is Cavill's time wearing the "S" was numbered once Warner Brothers decided not to move forward with Man of Steel 2.
Warner Brothers Pictures

On Sept. 12, it was announced that Henry Cavill wouldn't return as Superman in future Warner Brothers films. I am here to tell you that is all right and why it happened the way it did.

First, let me state that he made a fine Superman. With a better director, possibly even a great one. If the chains of time were realigned and Christopher Nolan decided to reboot the Superman franchise instead of Batman, Cavill would have killed it as Kal-El and his life would have changed. It's too bad Zack Snyder stepped in, blew stuff up with loud melodrama, and doomed the films from being widely beloved. Snyder badly wants to be Nolan, but will never measure up, so actors like Cavill are collateral damage.

The truth is Cavill's time wearing the "S" was numbered once Warner Brothers decided not to move forward with Man of Steel 2. Made for a reported $225 million budget, Man of Steel couldn't even gross $300 million in the states, and produced mixed feelings with critics, garnering a 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This made the studio executives shine the Batman logo in the sky, bringing in the aged yet weary-fitting Ben Affleck to play a cranky Batman. One uttering of the word "Martha" later, and Batman Versus Superman: Dawn of Justice was critical cat litter.

Justice League may have provided Cavill with his best material, but a poorly edited mustache doomed the performance, and the movie simply wasn't good. Forced to partner up with at least two superheroes per-movie, Cavill's thrill was gone in playing the role. He was never allowed to mature as Superman like Christopher Reeve, who remains the best at the role, was for many years and films. He came off as a prop more than an actual interpretation of the character. If you mess with a comic book hero like Superman, you best not miss, and Warners missed with Snyder's take.

With the exception of Wonder Woman, THe DCEU largely flunked out, forcing Warner Brothers to clean out the brass, and bring in new blood. Before James Wan's Aquaman can hit theaters in November, two members of 2017's Justice League have been deleted in Affleck and Cavill. I don't think it was a difference in schedules over a reported cameo in the upcoming Shazam film.

It's okay. The division needs a fresh coat of paint, and a new director playing with Snyder's toy in Cavill wouldn't look right or come off smooth, so a change had to be made. While the British actor's cryptic Instagram post was hilarious and entertaining, I don't think it amounts to much and actually provides closure. In the video, Cavill, wearing a Krypton Gym Club t-shirt, raises a Superman figurine into the frame slowly before pulling it back down. It may be his way of saying goodbye-so let it be.

This way, Warner Brothers can get bold with a casting choice, and while I like Michael B. Jordan as much as the next guy, he isn't the right choice if the studio wants to think outside the box and go with a non-Caucasian actor. It may be one of Jordan's co-stars in this year's box office smash, Black Panther.

A fellow writer and film fan, Kyle Reis, had a wickedly good choice Monday afternoon on Twitter.

St. Louis' own Brown is the perfect choice, and it's not just the fact that he likes toasted ravioli and stars in a series of Lou-themed commercials right now. He also happens to be a very good actor and one that is well-equipped at the action genre and superhero tale. If you've missed his Emmy award winning turn on NBC's This Is Us, you must have seen him steal scenes on FXX's The People Versus O.J. Simpson. While Hotel Artemis and this past weekend's flop, The Predator, weren't great films, Brown held his own in them and showed off a flair for action.

He's a good choice if Warner Brothers wants to go in a different direction-and they definitely should.

Cavill was a good Superman, but he wasn't great enough to overcome Snyder's adolescent direction and David S. Goyer's (who helped pen The Dark Knight) heavy-handed script. Right place, wrong time. It was right to move on from him and start anew, even if a good actor was sacrificed.

It's not bad for Cavill either. He proved in this summer's Mission Impossible: Fallout that he is highly capable of standing out in other big franchises and showing off his range as an actor projects such as Netflix's upcoming original series, The Witcher, as well as first time writer/director David Raymond's Nomis. The latter just closed the Los Angeles Film Festival and details police tracking down an online predator.

The parting of ways works for both sides. Warner Brothers gets to possibly go in a bolder direction with Superman, and Cavill can stretch his wings as an actor. While it's not a set in stone move and one side could pull back in, I doubt that it happens. I think it's over and that's okay.

Sometimes, things don't work out. Other times, an actor and studio get together and make three modestly successful films and find a way to mutually separate. It's the nature of the business.

Warner Brothers had a steaming pile of franchise excrement to deal with, and they are rebooting their roster of heroes. While that's unfortunate for some, it's an exciting turn of events at the same time. Let's see where it goes. Second chances in Hollywood are nice. Third chances don't exist.

Before You Leave, Check This Out