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James Gunn Writing New Superman Film Without Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck In Talks to Direct a DC Film
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
The next stage of the DCEU will include a Superman film from James Gunn, without Henry Cavill starring. Gunn posted to Twitter on Wednesday evening to announce that he and co-DC Studios head Peter Safran have their slate “ready to go” and that while more information is coming, one of the projects will be a film featuring the Man of Steel.
Gunn noted that “In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill. But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.” He later said that he would be writing it but that there is no director set as of yet.
It is not clear based on this information if Cavill will still play Superman in later films that aren’t focused on a younger iteration of the character. Cavill was announced in October as returning to the role after he appeared in a Black Adam post-credits scene. But that was before Gunn and Safran came onto as co-heads of the newly-reorganized studio, where they are assembling a more cohesive vision for DC film, television, and animation going forward.
Deadline reports that Gunn and Safran are meeting with talent right now to share their vision for the DC brand going forward. The site also reports that Ben Affleck , who is reprising his role as Batman in The Flash, will stay with the company but as a director. Affleck is reportedly in talks to direct a future film for DC, though the details on what and when are not yet known.
Peter & I have a DC slate ready to go, which we couldn’t be more over-the-moon about; we’ll be able to share some exciting information about our first projects at the beginning of the new year.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022
But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022
I am writing (and have been for a while). We don’t know who is directing yet. https://t.co/RPwtAsUgZP
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022
