Matthew Vaughn Says Superman: Red Son With Henry Cavill Would Be an Interesting Movie
The Argylle director would love to see what the Man of Steel star could do with such heavy material.
There may be a new Superman in the DC film universe -- and a new Supergirl to boot! -- but Argylle filmmaker Matthew Vaughn is still looking back at Henry Cavill's tenure as the Man of Steel and thinking more could have been done to showcase the star's skills. The Argylle filmmaker thinks it would be fascinating to see how Henry Cavill might be used in an Elseworlds-style adaptation of the fan-favorite comic Superman: Red Son. The series, which was written by Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar, centers on a Superman whose rocket crash-landed in Soviet Russia rather than Kansas.
The CW's Supergirl loosely adapted the Superman: Red Son storyline, with Lex Luthor training Supergirl's clone in Kaznia. Over the years, rumors of Warner Bros. making a Red Son movie have popped up pretty frequently, with WB Home Entertainment releasing an animated version back in 2020.
"I thought Red Son was one of the cleverest comics I'd ever read, and the current world we're living in, it's certainly become a lot more relevant because ignorance causes more issues, and I think the more we learn about Russia and the Russian history..." Vaughn told BroBible. "Wow, could you imagine remaking Red Son with Henry Cavill? That would be an interesting movie."
When rumors started to swirl about a Red Son movie in late 2020, former studio chief Walter Hamada publicly disputed the rumors -- but praised the book and said that an adaptation would not be out of the question down the line.
"I think the possibility is there," Hamada said at the time. "Our focus is great stories, so if we come across the right filmmaker with an interesting story, that doesn't work in our existing timeline, and it would work as an Elseworld, we would definitely explore that. We're not currently developing Red Son, so that isn't one of them, but when the right filmmaker or the right idea comes together, that's the beauty of [a] multiverse, is we can explore it. We can go down the road and take a shot at it....The answer is yes, there will be opportunities. That one is not one that we're currently exploring."
In addition to Cavill, Sam Rockwell, and Bryce Dallas Howard, Argylle stars Sofia Boutella (Rebel Moon), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Catherine O'Hara (Beetlejuice 2), John Cena (Fast X), Dua Lipa (Barbie), Rob Delaney (Deadpool 2), Jing Lusi (Crazy Rich Asians), Ariana DeBose (Kraven the Hunter), and Samuel L. Jackson (The Marvels). Matthew Vaughn, Adam Bohling, Jason Fuchs, and David Reid are producers, with Adam Fishbach, Zygi Kamasa, Carols Peres, and Claudia Vaughn executive producing.
Universal Pictures will release Argylle exclusively in theaters on February 2nd, 2024 before it becomes available to stream worldwide exclusively on Apple TV+.