There’s been lots of speculation regarding the future of the Superman movie franchise. Sequel or reboot, the question remains who will play Superman?
So, in the third instalment of our “Great Debate” feature, we ask the question…
Should Henry Cavill continue to play Superman?
Yes
This isn’t about being for or against the Snyderverse. This is about an iconic character and who should play him. Right now we have an awesome TV version of Superman. Tyler Hoechlin is doing a great job portraying the Man of Steel. “Superman & Lois” is a dream come true for some fans and Tyler’s take on the character as both Clark and Superman is just what many fans have been looking for. So do we need a movie Superman now that we have such a great portrayal on television? My answer is yes. And who should we get to play him? Why none other then Henry Cavill.
When I saw “Man of Steel” in the theater I was very torn. This was a rather polarizing take on Superman and his world. I’m not saying this to be negative but we must admit this was not the Superman we’d come to recognize from comics and other media. This was something very different and I have to say I didn’t enjoy Snyder’s vision of Superman and his world. No I didn’t hate it but there were many things I could argue against it. But not the actor who played him.
When I first saw a picture of Henry Cavill in the costume I was very impressed. Handsome, tall, muscular… he really fit that suit. I was not familiar with him as an actor but just looking at him told me this is the guy to play my favorite character. So when I saw the movie the actor didn’t disappoint but the movie did. While I do like certain things about it I found more to complain then praise. If I had any problem with the portrayal it was with the writers and director not the actor. I was very impressed with Cavill. Not only did he look the part but you could see through the performance that Cavill could be a great Superman.
From “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” to “Justice League” (both versions) it seemed that there was a better version trying to come out. If you didn’t like Cavill’s portrayal don’t blame the actor. Henry Cavill loves Superman. He’s said it many times and has given many not too subtle hints he would love to continue. If we do get that long awaited true sequel to “Man of Steel” or maybe a new version all together why get another actor? Cavill is not a slave to the Snyderverse. He can play any version that’s given to him. Whether it’s a period piece or something more contemporary or just a whole new take all together, we need look no further than Henry Cavill. He’s a terrific actor and has proven he can play the hero. I for one look forward to it.
No
Henry Cavill was an excellent Superman in a series of movies with severely diminishing returns.
As much as I love Tyler Hoechlin (I really do) and liked Tom Welling (Seasons 1-4 of “Smallville” were solid gold), in their portrayals of Superman they’re both doing varying shades of a Christopher Reeve impression.
Which is fine. I love Chris Reeve. He was my Superman, so versions of the character that feel like his feel right.
But I really, truly appreciated that Cavill did something different with Superman in general, and Clark Kent in particular. When I read “Superman: Earth One” I was irritated by the framing of Superman as a reluctant hero. In “Man of Steel” and its sequels, Cavill taps into that same feel as Clark, but it works because Superman is very clearly the real version of the person, in a way that I never quite picked up on with Reeve and his imitators. And that version of Superman is, for a while at least, elated to be in the sky. Henry’s Clark is… nuanced. Weighted in a way that his Superman isn’t. I really dug that.
Unfortunately, Cavill’s run as Superman was confined to 2/3rds of one good movie. And I suspect that was the 2/3rds that Christopher Nolan oversaw before deciding that Zack Snyder would be fine without him and left Zack to then burn it all to ashes. Like Metropolis in the last third of that film. Heh.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League” (both versions) are BAD movies. I’d almost argue they’re “Howard the Duck” levels of bad. Which is a shame because almost all the character work in them is amazing. Especially, but definitely not limited to Superman.
Which is the first reason Henry needs to hang up his cape.
As good as his Superman was, he’s tainted. Another director with another story could probably do wonderful things with his version of the character, but the audience would never tolerate it. Snyder fans would complain that he’d been watered down or neutered in a conventional Superman story. Snyder haters and the ambivalent would be lost trying to figure out where the character fits relative to what came before. Would he be the same Superman, or a different version, played by the same actor, absent any continuity?
You see the problem?
The other reason I’d like him to move on is a representation issue. Every film version of Superman and most of the TV ones have all been kind of… samey. Krypton is another planet. It seems highly unimaginative to assume that Superman would just kind of look like a more muscly version of Siegel and Shuster. As Marlon Brando once asked, “How do we know that Kryptonians don’t look like bagels?” The world is ready for a blonde Superman. Or a black Superman. Cast an indegenous actor in the role. Play with the dynamic of someone who would be a minority in rural Kansas also being an alien in rural Kansas. Give me a Superman whose empathy for the downtrodden comes from an immigrant perspective, both visual and actual.
A huge part of what made Cavill’s Superman such a breath of fresh air were the things he did differently from past iterations. Let’s keep flying in that direction.
Many thanks to our Great Debaters – Marc Lax and Julian Finn.
Team Henry forever!
Hope they bring Henry back! He has all it takes to be a wonderful and credible Superman!
I’m not a fan of Henry Cavill’s take on Superman. However I recognize and acknowledge that he has a fan following. So I’m putting my own feelings aside for the sake of a bigger picture and I’m asking for what I think and believe could be in the best interests of the Superman character. And what I’m asking for is multiple actors playing Superman at the same time. This is why I think that there should be multiple versions of Superman in the movies,on tv,and on HBOmax. Embrace the multiverse! I see no reason why one version of Superman has… Read more »
All the movies with Cavill have been disappointments in various ways, with little of the character’s idealism. Man of Steel seemed primarily like an extended exercise in demolishing buildings. And the scripts lift story elements from the comics (Zod’s death, the Dark Knight Returns confrontation) while stripping them of their context. But that’s not Cavill’s fault. He does well with what he has been given. He’s getting close to 40, so if a different writer and director wanted to use him, they should probably set the character’s age at 40 as well. Perhaps contrast him with the 1990s Superboy or… Read more »
“Man of Steel seemed primarily like an extended exercise in demolishing buildings.” And ShakyCam ™… So much ShakyCam ™. But to your point of Cavill doing the best he could with what he had to work with, I used to point to the latter seasons of the 50s TV and Superman III and IV as not being objectively good, but George Reeves and Christopher Reeve being good IN them. But it dawned on me (I can be taught!!) that in both cases they had earlier, better projects to get their respective footings, and they just carried that over. A more… Read more »
I guess they *could* course-correct (hard) and keep Cavill. In fact, say what you want about the relative merits of either version, but at least in the obvious Whedon scenes of the theatrical cut or Justice League, he actually acted like Superman should imo. But they’re going to have to dump a lot of baggage to make it work. I would think of it like when they’ve tried to retool the Bond franchise partway through an actor’s tenure (think Moonraker giving way to the far more down to earth For Your Eyes Only). So tl;dr they can keep Cavill, if… Read more »
Nope. It’s not Cavills fault but this take on Superman has been a disaster (IMO). Time to clean house and start fresh.
I completely disagree with the writer who said “No”. I think Superman is someone who shouldn’t ever change due to the iconic history of him. We always see people wanting a blonde or black Superman. Why do we not see that in Batman. Everyone is fine with a white man playing Batman. Make Bruce Hispanic. Make him have red hair. Kidding. Seriously, though, I think the writing is changing Superman for the worse in some aspect and some for the better, but we need to keep the look. Keep the powers. Keep Henry. He is America and UKs sweetheart. Do… Read more »
Bring back Henry. He deserves 2 full movies. Btw… you have got to take another look at the bewitched uncle arthur superman. Especially the shape of the “S” emblem. Look familiar? ?w=810&ssl=1
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It’s a shame to see the “no” side call what Tyler is doing an impression of Reeve. On Supergirl, I’d say yes – but not anymore. It’s an extention, to some degree, but his Superman is his own and (in ways, at least) more full-bodied than Reeve’s had a chance to be. I hated MoS. Left the movie sick to my stomach for a week. And I heckled BvS in the theater, it was so bad. But Henry? I like Henry. Brandon got the short straw due to a poor vision with “Superman Returns,” much as Henry has with the… Read more »
Exactly! The multiverse idea is the best approach for Superman right now. Give everyone what they want in seeing a version of Superman that they want. I see no reason why we can’t have more than one Superman. Since the new people in charge want to make Superman a priority and successful again, I really do think that the best way for them to do that is a green light for multiple versions of Superman. We could be witnessing such success for Superman the likes that has never been done before in history. And all WB-Discovery has to do is… Read more »
Yeah, I don’t get why they never see it with Superman. There’s already going to be several Batmen (Pattinson, plus Keaton is back and Affleck is making a cameo at least). Also, I agree on Superman Returns.. the idea itself isn’t terrible – imo, the execution was. It’s one thing to continue a version’s story with new actors, it’s one thing to reference a past version, but most of the movie was that, particularly Superman’s lines. It’s like Chris Farley’s “you know that one time when you did that thing… that was so cool” character wrote the script, and then… Read more »
Yeah I don’t get why they don’t see how successful Routh’s Superman is either. Fans are literally asking for Routh’s Superman to return. He should have gotten more screen time as Superman for Crisis. I just hope that WB-Discovery realizes this and bring him back for more of his Superman. He deserves more time as Superman. Way more time.
Totally agree with you about the multiverse. I hope that there will be more fans also asking for a multiverse crossover of the three Supermen as well, and that maybe those in charge of Superman movie, tv, and streaming properties will realize the advantage of a crossover and make it happen. I truly do believe that the more of us fans that ask for this multiverse crossover to happen, the more likely I believe it will happen.
I feel he should at the very least do one more movie. We still haven’t seen what we all want to see from Superman.
Routh should get a HBOmax Superman series that should go up to at least 10 seasons, and a Kingdom Come movie trilogy. He played a version of the Kingdom Come Superman in the Crisis crossover, so he could age into the role even more so. I’d say that Routh has an advantage in having played an older version of Superman. So time is on his side. And I would really like to see Routh’s Superman meet and team up with Kenton’s Batman. Also make a multiverse movie trilogy tying in all three recent versions of Superman. Routh, Cavill, and Hoechlin… Read more »