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Henry Cavill has moved on from his canceled Superman comeback to new ventures, yet he retains his sense of humor about what might have been.

During his opening comments at a Business Insider screening of his latest Guy Ritchie film, “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” Cavill subtly referenced his previous Man of Steel controversy with DC Studios and WB.

Cavill, while lauding his work with Ritchie, recalled their prior collaboration on the 2015 spy movie “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” in which he starred alongside Armie Hammer and Alicia Vikander. He also mentioned being “in a post-credit scene” for Ritchie’s “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” featuring Charlie Hunnam. However, it’s uncertain if Cavill, who was rumored to have auditioned for the role of King Arthur, was serious, as he is not listed in the IMDb credits for that movie.

“Turns out, I don’t have much luck with post-credit scenes,” he joked, to audience laughter. “So, I may give up on those.”

Cavill, who went on to praise his “extraordinary” experience working with Ritchie on “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” was clearly referencing his much-hyped appearance in the 2022 DC Studios film “Black Adam,” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

In an end-credits scene in that movie, Cavill’s Superman makes his big return. The actor even promoted his cameo with an Instagram post where he proclaimed that he’s back as Superman and thanked fans for holding out hope for his return to the character.

“A very small taste of what’s to come, my friends. The dawn of hope renewed. Thank you for your patience, it will be rewarded,” he captioned the October 2022 post.

Cavill first played the legendary superhero in Zack Snyder’s 2013 movie “Man of Steel,” and reprised the role in 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and 2017’s “Justice League.”

But only two months after Cavill’s post about his return, newly minted DC Studios boss James Gunn, who was named co-chairman and co-CEO alongside producer Peter Safran in 2022, revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that he was in the process of writing a new Superman movie that would focus on “an earlier part of Superman’s life” and would therefore not star Cavill.

“We just had a fantastic meeting with Henry, and we’re huge fans. We discussed several thrilling opportunities for future collaboration,” Gunn stated in a follow-up post on X in December 2022.

Cavill took to Instagram to confirm the news, acknowledging his meeting with Gunn and Safran.

“It’s unfortunate news, everyone. In the end, I won’t be reprising my role as Superman,” Cavill shared. “Despite being instructed by the studio to announce my comeback in October, before their appointment, this update is not the simplest to digest, but such is life. I understand that James and Peter have a universe to construct. I extend my best wishes and the greatest of luck to them and everyone involved in the new universe.”

In a January 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter about DC’s revamped slate, Gunn again addressed Cavill’s exit. He said Cavill hadn’t been fired, because he was never cast to begin with.

“For me, it’s about, Who do I want to cast as Superman, and who do the filmmakers we have want to cast? And for me, for this story, it isn’t Henry,” Gunn told THR.

“I like Henry, I think he’s a great guy,” he added. “I think he’s getting dicked around by a lot of people, including the former regime at this company. But this Superman is not Henry, for a number of reasons.”

Despite the DC drama, Cavill has plenty on his slate. Aside from starring as Gus March-Phillipps, the leader of a rag-tag crew of highly-skilled renegades on a secret mission to fight the Nazis, in “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” he’s playing Highlander in the reboot of the fantasy franchise coming from Lionsgate. He also reunited with Ritchie already for the director’s upcoming 2025 film “In the Grey,” which will also re-team him with his “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” costar Eiza González.