Superman Fans Are Buzzing About Henry Cavill's Rumored Return as the Man of Steel

Henry Cavill could be making a flyby at Comic-Con. On Wednesday, Deadline reported a rumor that stirred an online buzzstorm among fans: the Superman star will take the stage at Hall H during the Warner Bros. Theatrical San Diego Comic-Con panel on Saturday, July 23. Warner Bros. Pictures will present a look at its DC Films slate, which includes Black Adam (in theaters October 21) and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (out December 21), with stars Dwayne Johnson and Zachary Levi. Cavill's reported appearance comes on the heels of Johnson teasing a future showdown between his anti-hero Teth-Adam of Kahndaq and Cavill's Kal-El of Krypton.

Cavill first played the character in director Zack Snyder's DCEU-launching Man of Steel in 2013, reprising the role opposite Ben Affleck's Dark Knight in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017's Justice League. While Superman made cameos in scenes ending Shazam! and HBO Max series Peacemaker, Cavill did not: body doubles portrayed the faceless and unspeaking Man of Steel. 

Still, Cavill is committed to playing the Superman of the DC Extended Universe. In 2019, the Witcher star refuted widely-reported rumors he was hanging up Superman's cape, telling Men's Health: "The cape is in the closet."

"It's still mine. I'm not going to sit quietly in the dark as all the stuff is going on. I've not given up the role," Cavill said at the time. "There's a lot I have to give for Superman yet. A lot of storytelling to do. A lot of real, true depths to the honest of the character I wasn't to get into. I want to reflect the comic books. That's important to me. There's a lot of justice to be done for Superman. The status is: You'll see."

Cavill's response came after Warner Bros. issued a statement about Cavill's future as Superman, noting that "while no decisions have been made regarding any upcoming Superman films, we've always had great respect for and a great relationship with Henry Cavill, and that remains unchanged." 

The studio behind the DCEU-set Wonder Woman and The Flash has yet to greenlight a Man of Steel 2 or another standalone Superman movie taking place in its shared universe, but that could change on Saturday. See what fans are saying below.