One of the big “what ifs” in Hollywood in the last number of years has been Henry Cavill‘s Superman. First appearing in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013, the actor’s version of the beloved comic book hero had hit many snags during his tenure thanks to the divisive nature of the previous DCEU. Cavill and Snyder never got to finish out their Superman run, but now the Rebel Moon director has revealed how his DC saga would have finished off the character.

In a video with GQ reflecting on his career, Snyder revealed that he would have built off the ending of his cut of Justice League. “He was going to have to succumb to the Anti-life, be destroyed, turn the clock back, and then get his chance for this battle against Darkseid.” He would finish by saying, “If you will… that would have finished his trilogy of becoming this guardian, and sort of, return him to his humanity.” This was all set in Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with the flash forwards of an apocalypse destroyed Earth run by Darkseid and a brainwashed Superman as his right-hand man. The famous DC villain also appeared in his cut of Justice League.

Superman’s Future Is Bright Under James Gunn’s Leadership

While Henry Cavill starred in three films as Superman (with two cuts of Justice League), it never felt like he was able to soar in the role. Many will argue that’s due to Snyder’s darker take on the source material, but there just wasn’t ever enough Cavill in the DCEU. Out of the 15 films in this ill-fated universe, Superman was only the main star in one of them and shared the screen with characters like Batman and Wonder Woman in both Batman v Superman and Justice League. There was a small glimmer of hope when Cavill appeared in the post credits of Black Adam. However, that was the beginning of the end for the DCEU. Months after the actor made a video announcing his return as Superman, James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired to head the new DC Studios at Warner Brothers.

Gunn, who wrote and is currently directing the new Superman, ultimately decided the best future for the character was to reboot the universe entirely. That meant going with another actor. The new Superman is Pearl’s David Corenswet. It would have been nice to see Cavill continue on with the role, but all three parties look like they’re befitting from the change. Cavill has some big projects lined up, like the Highlander reboot, Snyder is hard at work building his new sci-fi franchise Rebel Moon and the ever-growing Army of the Dead universe, and everything regarding Gunn’s new DCU direction looks great thus far.

Gunn’s Superman is releasing in theaters on July 11, 2025. While DC fans wait for the new DCU form, you can reminisce about what could have been by streaming Snyder’s Justice League trilogy on Max. You can also currently stream Snyder’s latest film, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, on Netflix.