Yesterday, Henry Cavill took to social media to make his return to the DC universe official. The actor announced he is going to reprise his role as Superman after many years of speculation and uncertainty. The actor posted a video of himself wearing the Superman uniform to make the announcement, and today that video was reposted by the newest addition to the DC Extended Universe: Dwayne Johnson, who stars in Black Adam, celebrated Cavill’s return.
In a Twitter post, Johnson reveals that Cavill’s return as DC’s mightiest hero has been in the works for years, and that Johnson himself fought to make it happen along with producers Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia. Johnson added that, as negotiations moved forward, “no was not an option” because “we can’t build our DCEU without the world’s greatest superhero.”
Johnson’s tweet also sends a not-so-subtle message to critics who didn’t like Black Adam, as he mentions that “fans will always come first.” During this week, the gaping difference in ratings from critics and general audiences on Rotten Tomatoes made people who check the website regularly scratch their heads: The blockbuster currently sits at a 39% approval rate from critics and a whopping 90% hailing from the audience score. This prompted Johnson to retweet praise for the movie and write that “the fans matter most and we’re always committed to deliver for them.”
The return of Cavill signals at a possible attempt to give the current DCEU another try. After lower-than-expected return from titles like Justice League, Warner Bros. made some movements that suggested the interconnected universe of their superheroes would be either rebooted or modified.
This doesn’t mean, of course, that the DC universe in cinemas will cease to be all over the place. Batman has already been rebooted, and a sequel is already in the works with Robert Pattinson back as Bruce Wayne, while The Flash is moving forward but taking precautions due to star Ezra Miller’s behavior. On the other hand, separate franchises like Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom are still moving forward in that same universe, which clearly suggests that Warner Bros. needs to get its bearings in the coming years if they want to give fans a sense of consistency and try and reproduce the Marvel Cinematic Universe success once again.
On top of all that, there’s the major restructuring of Warner Bros. Discovery, a merger that has already resulted in high-profile DC casualties like Batgirl. The project’s cancelation angered fans, and also makes us wonder about the future of their superheroes in cinema and on TV, since alledgedly there are many more cuts to come. Even though Cavill is officially back, a new Superman or Justice League movie is yet to be announced. The last time Cavill played the son of Krypton was in 2017's Justice League.
You can check out Dwayne Johnson’s celebratory tweet below: