When I love an actor in a particular franchise role, I can’t help but hope the series continues so I get to see more and more of that actor’s interpretation of the character. However, sometimes I try to push pause on the demand for more, more, more and consider, I know I want more of them doing this particular thing, but what about the actors themselves? What’s left to gain from a role you’ve played in a number of films?
Ever since the release of 2013’s Man of Steel, there’s been a widespread and very fervent call for a sequel. Yes, we did get to see Henry Cavill return to the role of Superman for Batman v Superman and Justice League, but that’s just not the same as getting another Cavill-lead Superman-focused story.
With the new season of The Witcher set to arrive on Netflix on December 17th, I got the chance to catch up with Cavill. After discussing some of his primary goals for Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher Season 2, I opted to pose my question regarding returning to roles. At this point, what does he think he has to gain from playing Superman? “I wouldn’t say it’s about the craft or me as an actor.” He also added, “It is personal to a degree.”
For Cavill, it seems what he has left to gain from the character personally comes down to story, specifically, seeing Superman’s growth as a hero come to fruition. Here’s how he put it:
“I felt like Man of Steel was a wonderful opening story, an origin story to Superman. It left a lot of space for him to grow beyond that and become the hero that we recognize. Batman v Superman took a hard turn down a darker route and it was a Batman perspective story and so it didn’t really show the aspects of Superman which I was very, very keen to show. Justice League Snyder Cut definitely leant into that a bit more. I had a bit more of a gentleness to the tone of the thing, but I would love to have the opportunity to play the Superman that we all know and love from the comics, as a continuation of his development and we see the hero. That would be really, really exciting for me because there is an opportunity to tell a lot of interesting story there. It’s just about finding the right hooks to have a character that is as good and idealistic as Superman, that there are wonderful opportunities to delve into what it’s like to exist as him and those hardships that come with that. When you have to save everyone, how hard is that on you? That could be an interesting line to run.”
The interest and eagerness is clearly still there on Cavill’s part, so let the call for a Man of Steel sequel continue!
In the meantime, don’t miss yet another impassioned franchise performance from Cavill in The Witcher. All eight episodes of Season 2 drop on Netflix on Friday, December 17th.