James Gunn has long been one of the most famous names in superhero cinema, and his influence has been felt in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe. But at least for Henry Cavill, who has just confirmed his return to the DCEU, Gunn is apparently still a bit of an unknown.
“I haven’t met James yet,” Cavill admitted in an interview with IGN. “I am looking forward to meeting him. It is clear that he is a very, very talented man, and I can’t wait to sit down and have long, long conversations with him.. I’m very excited for him to be there and very excited for any future opportunities we can work on together.”
Gunn’s rise parallels Cavill’s own return to the DCEU. In post-Black Adam interviews, in which Dwayne Johnson spoke at length about the possibility of a Black Adam vs. Superman matchup, Cavill spoke of playing a “cheerful Superman.”
What Cavill means by a “cheerful Superman”
When asked to expand, Cavill talked about how Superman “means a lot to a lot of people”which in turn can be related to the experience itself.
“What really draws me to Superman is that he represents the best of the human soul, the greatest of the human soul. It’s not just his powers. It’s his heart. It’s his heart that makes him so special. And even when he’s going through things, he continues to give to others. He continues to protect others. He is the one who always reaches out and always gives. And in that there is a lot of wonder and power. And it is something so joyful, as I say, that it is not a mournful weight ” Cavill says.
“It’s something that’s a gift. Giving is a gift because it makes people feel a certain way, and it also makes them want to give to other people in return. There’s something magnificent about that. But once you get into the details of that, and once you start applying that narrative and all the wonderful and exciting villains that you might run into, then you have a world adventure and a world where the audience walks out of the theater feeling fantastic.”
Cavill is currently at the center of several Superman rumors, including rumors that Warner Bros. Discovery is working on Man of Steel 2. They coincide with the news that Cavill will not be reprising his role as Geralt in Netflix’s The Witcher series.
One way or another, Cavill is monopolizing more prominence than ever, which means that when he has his inevitable conversation with Gunn, it’s going to be very interesting. For now, his attention is focused on Enola Holmes 2, which opens on November 4.
