Henry Cavill has been speaking to GQ about where he wanted Superman to go in the DC Extended Universe after the events of Justice League and that it’s “still something I am very keen to flesh out.”
Speaking of Man of Steel, Cavill said; “That was the beautiful bit – even though he has restrained himself and lived this life of loneliness essentially, he’s still willing to step out of the shadows and become the hero, despite the fact it’s going to have a negative impact on his life. And that I think is the aspect of that symbol of hope – he’s representing everything that is good about mankind. Despite the fact that mankind may not be good to him.”
“At the end of Man of Steel, it was set up so wonderfully to begin that journey, because he had had his first outing…We get those steps towards building that incredible wise version of Superman, rather than you know the still wet-behind-the-ears kind.”
“I was very keen on really fleshing out Superman’s early stages of his journey first. We had Man of Steel, and then we went quite a bit darker with Batman v Superman. And if he were to succumb to the Anti-Life Equation, and become bad Superman, I really wanted to make sure we saw the hero Superman, and we saw the true symbol of hope, the beacon of light, before we went down the path of darkness and then redemption. And it’s still something that I am very keen to flesh out.”
It’s obvious that Cavill feels he has unfinished business with Superman and would still love the chance to do Man of Steel 2, or another sequel that focuses on Clark Kent. Discussions for Man of Steel 2 have been in various stages of development over the years, with director Christopher McQuarrie (who Cavill worked with on Mission Impossible: Fallout) even pitching a version, and the studio even asking The Suicide Squad director James Gunn if he would be interested in a Superman movie.
In the GQ interview, Cavill discusses some of his other well-known characters; including Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher), Sherlock (Enola Holmes), August Walker (Mission Impossible: Fallout), Napoleon Solo (The Man From UNCLE).
Interest in Cavill’s version of Superman and his vision of the character does not look set to die down any time soon. The ball is in Warner Bros’ court to see if they can give the iconic character a satisfying resolution.