Hold your ice breath: Henry Cavill's return as Superman might not actually be a done deal

Henry Cavill's big screen return as Superman in the DC Universe may not be as assured as we previously thought. According to a new report from The Wrap, there is no concrete deal in place for the actor to reprise the Man of Steel at Warner Bros. Discovery. In addition, no writer or director have been locked in for another blockbuster outing with the red-caped hero from Krypton, despite the fact that an early comic book roadmap has begun to form under the purview of DC Films' new co-heads; James Gunn and Peter Safran.

Following a surprise cameo in the post-credits scene of Black Adam, Cavill made it official in a pre-recorded Instagram message. "I am back as Superman," he declared to the delight of fans. Shortly thereafter, it was announced he'd be vacating the role of Geralt of Rivia ahead of the Netflix show's fourth season of The Witcher (Liam Hemsworth will take over the hunky monster hunter). Many saw this move as an indication of Cavill freeing up his schedule for more feature films, particularly those involving appearances from Clark Kent. That could, of course, still be the case — the deal just isn't as far along as everyone had assumed.

Cavill played the Man of Tomorrow in three DC-inspired projects: 2013's Man of Steel, 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and 2017's Justice League (both the Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder edits).

The spectacular box office failure of Justice League placed the future of the DC Extended Universe in serious doubt, prompting the studio to scrap its universe-building ambitions for more standalone and director-driven adventures like Aquaman, Shazam!, and Wonder Woman 1984. As is often the case in Hollywood, Cavill simply moved on with his career, nabbing choice roles in The Witcher and the Enola Holmes franchise.

While Gunn and Safran hammer out a more cohesive mythos (à la what Kevin Feige did at Marvel Studios), a number of completed or near-completed movies from the previous era — overseen by Walter Hamada — await their turn on the silver screen.

They include: David F. Sandberg's Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17, 2023), Andy Muschietti's The Flash (June 23, 2023), Angel Manuel Soto's Blue Beetle (Aug. 18, 2023), and James Wan's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Dec. 25, 2023). A sequel to Matt Reeves' The Batman is also in the works alongside a pair of HBO spinoffs for Colin Farrell's The Penguin and Arkham Asylum.

Looking for more blockbuster content? Jordan Peele's Nope is now streaming on Peacock.