You will believe a man can fly… again. Days after fans of the DC ExtendedUniverse witnessed Henry Cavill suiting up as Superman for the first time infive years in a Black Adam bonus scene, the actor has taken to Instagram toconfirm that he’s back in the good ol’ red and blue.
“I wanted to wait until the weekend was over before posting this, because Iwanted to give you all a chance to watch Black Adam ,” the British actorsaid in the video accompanying his post, which arrived on the heels of themovie’s $67 million opening weekend. “But now that plenty of you have, I wantto make it official: I am back as Superman.”
“The image you see on this post is and what you saw in Black Adam are just avery small taste of what’s to come,” Cavill continued. “There’a lot to bethankful for and I’ll get to that in time. But I wanted to thank you guys mostof all. Thank you for your support and thank you for your patience. I promiseit will be rewarded.”
Cavill was certainly patient when it came to plotting his return to the DCEU.The actor filmed his last scenes as Superman — a role inherited fromChristopher Reeve, among others, starting with 2013’s Man of Steel andcontinuing in 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice — during thereshoots for Joss Whedon’s theatrical version of 2017’s Justice League.Since then, the Man of Steel has been spotted only fleetingly in the DCEU, andnever with Cavill in the costume.
It took Black Adam __ himself to bring Superman back into the fold. DwayneJohnson personally appealed to Warner Bros. heads, Michael De Luca and PamAbdy, to make a deal with Cavill — who is represented by Johnson’s manager andex-wife, Dany Garcia — and that flurry of activity resulted in the mid-creditsscene being filmed in secrecy in September.
Dwayne Johnson changes the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe in BlackAdam. (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros.)
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter ‘s Behind the Screen podcast, themovie’s cinematographer, Lawrence Sher, revealed that neither hero was on setat the same time for their brief encounter. Instead, Johnson filmed his halfof the scene during Black Adam ‘s additional photography in Atlanta, whileCavill’s portion was shot in London. “There are certain people that are iconicas the characters that they play, and he’s really one of them,” Sher recalledof seeing the initial footage of Cavill’s return.
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Although news of Superman’s appearance leaked in advance of Black Adam ‘sopening day, Cavill remained studiously out of sight. Now, though, you canexpect to see a lot more of Superman. according to THR , Warner Bros. is inthe early stages of prepping Man of Steel 2 and there’s still time forCavill to shoot cameos in upcoming DCEU fare that’s set for release in 2023,including Shazam: Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.(There’s also Ezra Miller’s standalone Flash movie, although that movie isfacing its own troubles.)
But the main event will be the Superman v. Black Adam movie that Johnson iseager to get off the ground. “Dude, that was always the plan,” the action startold USA Today . “Establish Black Adam as the most powerful andunstoppable force on this planet. And if we do that right, let’s take the mostbeloved superhero in the world, of all time, that’s been idle and sitting onthe sideline for five years. Let’s fight , and let’s not take no for an answerand let’s bring him back.”
On Twitter, Cavill champions promptly unleashed five years worth of pent-upenthusiasm for their hero’s return.
Black Adam is playing in theaters now.