Star Trek’s William Shatner Shows Support for Henry Cavill

(Former) Superman actor Henry Cavill is continuing to get showered in respect and well wishes, from fans and industry colleagues alike. One person weighing on Cavill’s situation is another actor responsible for portraying a now-iconic hero: Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, William Shatner! 

Bill Shatner dropped a social media post addressing the Henry Cavill situation in some brief (but effective) words: “Sending my best wishes to #HenryCavillWhen a door closes; a window opens.” 

What Happened to Henry Cavill? 

Henry Cavill has been on something of a career roller coaster lately. After being DC and Warner Bros.’ choice to lead the Superman franchise into an entire DC movie universe, Cavill hit the speed bumps of early divisiveness over the work of director Zack Snyder (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman) and his portrayal of Superman. Things only got worse as Cavill’s Superman momentum began to stall as WB executive changes threw the DCEU into chaos, and Justice League became an utter disaster. Cavill branched out into other roles and franchises, only to be dragged back into fray when Zack Snyder was brought back in to finish his version of Justice League. 

After The Snyder Cut, Cavill’s Superman seemed to fall back into franchise limbo – that is until Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson officially got Cavill back in the cape, with a grand post-credits appearance in Black Adam this year. However, soon after that movie stalled in theaters, Warner Bros. DIscovery announced a new venture, DC Studios, run by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad) and Peter Safran. As the new DC Studios era begins, it was announced that Henry Cavill is done as Superman, and Gunn re-launching the character in a reboot film. 

William Shatner got a much more lengthy and celebrated run as Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek of the 1960s, through the movies of the 1990s. That said, Shatner has been alive long enough to have seen the role of Kirk recast multiple times, inlcuding Chris Pine taking over the role in the Star Trek movie reboots of the 2010s era, and Paul Wesley (Vampire Diaries) taking over the Kirk role on TV, in the new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds series. 

For his part, Henry Cavill has released the following statement about leaving the Superman role: pe-has-passed:

“After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life. The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that. James and Peter have a universe to build. I wish them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes. For those who have been by my side through the years….we can mourn for a bit, but then we must remember… Superman is still around. Everything he stands for still exists, and the examples he sets for us are still there! My turn to wear the cape has passed, but what Superman stands for never will. It’s been a fun ride with you all, onwards and upwards.”

Man of Steel is streaming on HBO Max. Star Trek is streaming on Paramount+.