Henry Cavill Not Appearing as Superman in Shazam! Sequel

After months of speculation about the prospect, Variety reports that Henry Cavill will not be appearing in the upcoming Shazam!: Fury of the Gods as Superman. This confirmation comes after weeks of unverified rumors and reports claiming that Cavill would, in fact, be appearing in the upcoming film, with Variety claiming that multiple sources who are directly connected to the production have revealed the lack of Cavill’s involvement. What’s unclear, however, is if Cavill was ever attached to appear in the upcoming film and if plans have since changed or if there was never any possibility of Cavill reprising the role for the sequel.

Director of the new film David F. Sandberg recently took to Twitter to vaguely address the rumors about Cavill, detailing how major productions can undergo a variety of changes for a number of reasons.

“Not going to comment on casting rumors for several reasons,” the filmmaker tweeted. “One being you can’t be sure about anything until it’s happened. Halfway through shooting Shazam the plan was still for Cavill to be in it. Scoopers could have scooped that and been right at the time but wrong in the end.”

He jokingly added, “Though I can confirm with ~90% certainty that Shazam will appear in Shazam 2. So if you’re a fan of that character you might enjoy Shazam 2.”

Cavill’s career in the DC Extended Universe has been a complicated one, especially given that he helped kick off the current iteration of the franchise with Man of Steel back in 2013. While that film was a relative success, his next outing, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was a critical failure, despite being a strong box-office performer. Justice League only saw the character featured in a minor role, all while Cavill began getting involved with immensely popular franchises like Mission: Impossible and The Witcher. With each passing project, Cavill continues to earn more praise as the DCEU seems to grow smaller in the rearview.

The actor has expressed his interest in getting to play Superman again at some point, with some reports claiming he will, in fact, return for a cameo at some point in a future DCEU project. With the upcoming The Flash set to feature a number of live-action performers from all corners of the DC universe, we wouldn’t be surprised to see him show up in that film, either to revive interest in the character or to offer a send-off to his take on the character.

Shazam!: Fury of the Gods is slated to hit theaters on June 2, 2023.

Are you disappointed Cavill won’t be in the sequel? Let us know in the comments below!