Thankfully, the studio knows that the blame for how Justice League went down had zero to do with Cavill or Superman, so while they may have cooled their jets with regard to announcing something official about a sequel (which wouldve happened in January had things gone well), Warner Bros. still very much wants to be in the Cavill/Superman business. Ive reported before that the studio wants him to make his presence felt in their upcoming Shazam! movie, and- if a recent rumor is to be believed- that would just be the start of his expanded role within the DCU.
According to Collider, the studio is so enamored with Cavills Superman that- aside from sequels- they want him to sign a deal that would include various appearances across several DC film projects. As has been noted in the past, Cavill only has one film left on his contact, and Ive explained on my podcast how the negotiations have been somewhat complicated. If Colliders sources are to be trusted, this could explain exactly what the hold-up is.
In recent months, while trying to make sense of what the two sides want, Ive speculated that it could be something as simple as money- With Cavill wanting a hefty raise to stay on and the studio wanting to see how his sequel does before ponying up the cash. But it now sounds like it could have more to do with the number of appearances the studio wants.
Heres precisely what Colliders sources claim:
The rumor I heard was they wanted to make Superman the glue that ties all the DC movies together, which would feature the iconic character making small, but memorable, appearances in all the movies sort of like the way Samuel L. Jacksons Nick Fury pops up in most of the Marvel movies.
Its an interesting concept, and I must admit that Im onboard if its the case. Since the studio is keen to keep the shared universe concept going, and Superman is the kind of character who can pop up anywhere at any time, it makes sense to embrace his role in the
Something I said on recent El Fanboy that Id like to include here is that things are definitely more put-together behind-the-scenes than Cavills public comments imply. How do I know this? Because a few WB employees have laid eyes on visual designs for updates to Supermans suit- and designers wouldnt be working on that if there werent already a Superman appearance set to occur. My gut tells me theyre for his Shazam! cameo, but who knows?
As for what these updates are? It seems like theyre just weighing different options. Theres a variation that looks a little less alien, which does away with the metallic under-suit. Theres also one that places more emphasis on the belt area, and looks more like the Rebirth suit.
So theyre weighing their options over there, and figuring out exactly how they want the Man of Steel to look in future appearances. Theres no telling which way theyre going to go, but its refreshing to know that theres all this actual behind-the-scenes chatter going on right now about the King of Superheroes.
