Superman Returns Director Bryan Singer Explains Why He Didn't Cast Henry Cavill

In a new interview with Empire magazine, out now, X-Men: Days of Future Past director Bryan Singer told the magazine that while Henry Cavill did audition to play Superman before Man of Steel, the filmmaker didn't see what he wanted in the actor. That is, he didn't see Christopher Reeve. "I think Henry Cavill is great," Singer is quoted as saying. "I knew Henry. He and I were friends years ago. Oddly enough, the reason I didn't cast him was because I was making a sequel to Christopher Reeve and I wanted somebody who embodied Reeve more." Which is, of course, kind of funny considering the whole "was Chris Reeve CGI'ed into a scene or did Cavill just really look like him?" thing. In any event, Singer praised the heck out of Man of Steel, saying that he would have done things differently, but that he didn't mean that as an insult. "I am in awe of the world building and the scope of that picture. It's tough for me. I'm not a critic and it starts to get into a weird thing where one director is talking about another director. I know how hard it is to make a movie, especially one of these movies and especially a Superman movie, and there was so much I was impressed with in that movie. There were things I might have done a little differently just because of the way I view the character. Don't misinterpret that as me not liking something. It's not 'Bryan Singer's review of Man Of Steel'!"