Henry Cavill Reportedly Just A “Pawn” In Dwayne Johnson’s “Attempt To Control A Piece Of DC”

Henry Cavill’s DC exit shocked everyone. But did his mess happen because The Rock was using the actor as a pawn for his DC plans?

By Ishita Chatterjee
December 17,2022
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Henry Cavill’s departure from DCU’s Superman role sent shockwaves through the fandom and larger Hollywood. As per new DC CEO James Gunn, his dismissal was because a new Superman movie is being written with a younger Clark Kent. As a result, Henry can’t portray the character any longer. But then a question arises, why was he even brought back in Black Adam and made to announce his return? New reports say that the entire Cavill debacle was due to Dwayne Johnson trying to get in on the DC bandwagon. Scroll down to read more below:

Henry Cavill Just A Pawn For Dwayne Johnson?

Henry Cavill returned as Superman in Black Adam
Henry Cavill returned as Superman in Black Adam

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Henry Cavill was seemingly a pawn in The Rock’s games. The outlet says:

“In the end, he was a pawn in Dwayne’s failed attempt to control a piece of DC”

And it seems to be true as well.

After all, Cavill’s fanbase is huge and DC fans have always campaigned for him to be back as DC’s crown jewel, Superman. Dwayne Johnson did get Henry Cavill to return in his DC movie Black Adam and that generated insane hype for the film. During a video posted on Instagram, he stated how hard he had to work to get the Man of Steel actor back since the previous regime didn’t want him to return. But there was a catch to his return.

As per THR, Henry Cavill had no contract in place. It was just a verbal agreement with the studio for future projects. However, the online site says that there were plans for a Superman movie with Steven Knight. As per THR:

“The studio had its own plan as new film co-chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy wanted to make a Man of Steel sequel, having Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight to write the treatment. (Classic character Brainiac was to have been the villain of that piece, a source says.)”

As for the Black Adam cameo, he was reportedly paid $250,000 for it. So he didn’t go home empty-handed for that. As for Black Adam, its future is also in peril as the movie has grossed only $389 million on a reported budget between $195 to 230 million. So The Rock’s play to get a piece of the DC pie wasn’t ultimately successful.

James Gunn Preparing For A DC Reboot

James Gunn
James Gunn

When a fan accused James Gunn of stringing Henry Cavill along to aid Black Adam’s box-office numbers, he said that whatever happened with Black Adam was before he was put in charge of the DC brand. But what are his DC plans? The biggest rumors right now say that James Gunn is preparing for a hard DC reboot.

But rebooting a franchise that has been around for a decade and has catapulted several actors to stardom isn’t easy. So Gunn and Safran are trying to make the stars swallow this bitter pill with something sweet. As per THR the new DC CEOs have made plans with three stars:

“The executives met with Cavill to discuss their plans and seemed to indicate a potential new role down the road. The pair have also made overtures to Ben Affleck, aka Batman, asking him to direct a DC film for them while Jason Momoa — who may be done as Aquaman — has met with the duo as well, possibly about playing a new role.”

Even if nothing materializes for Henry Cavill, he won’t be strapped for work. After all, the star is already executive producing and starring in a Warhammer 40K adaptation.

Let us know your thoughts. Do you think Dwayne Johnson really strung Henry Cavill along?

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