Overview

• James Gunn said he and co-chair Peter Safran informed Henry Cavill in person that he would not return as Superman and described the experience as “terrible” and “unfair.”
• He pinpointed misaligned messaging at Warner Bros. Discovery—where competing factions announced Cavill’s return the day his DC Studios deal closed—as the root of the confusion.
• Cavill accepted the news gracefully, requested to break the update himself and was praised by Gunn as “an absolute gentleman.”
• David Corenswet was cast in the title role for the DCU reboot, which launched with the July 11, 2025 release of Superman.
• Gunn expressed a desire to cast Cavill in a different DC Universe role and said he would welcome the actor back in another capacity.