I Love That Henry Cavill Got the Last Laugh in the DCU Debacle
Almost two years after Henry Cavill announced he had been replaced as Superman in the DC Universe, it feels like he finally got justice through an unlikely source: Deadpool & Wolverine.
In October 2022, Cavill reprised his role as Superman in Black Adam and announced his official return to the DC Universe. He also quickly filmed a Superman cameo for The Flash. However, just a few months after the announcement, he was forced to walk back his statement when James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the DCU and revealed that they would recast the role of Superman. As a result, his cameo was cut from The Flash. To this day, there are a lot of lingering questions about the whole incident, such as why the studio told him to announce his return even though it likely knew the recasting was at least a possibility since Gunn was already working on Superman. Needless to say, a lot of Cavill’s fans remain indignant over the situation, believing the studio unnecessarily wasted his time and got his hopes up.
However, upon the premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine, viewers saw that Cavill ultimately got the last laugh in the situation.
Deadpool & Wolverine tackles the Superman recasting drama
Deadpool & Wolverine wasn’t afraid to tackle many real-life studio troubles, including Disney’s recent Marvel flops and its acquisition of Fox. However, it even went as far as to broach the DCU’s infamous Superman recasting. Not only that, but the movie brings in Cavill himself in a cameo no one saw coming. In the film, Deadpool uses the TVA’s technology to hop through various timelines, looking for a Wolverine variant to help him. One of the variants that stands out the most is none other than the “Cavillrine.”
Sure enough, Cavill, who has long been a fan favorite to play Wolverine when Hugh Jackman retires, appears as the Cavillrine. Even Deadpool appears shocked to see it’s Cavill. Before the Cavillrine attacks him, Deadpool cracks a joke about how the MCU would treat Cavill better than his former superhero franchise. Of course, the cameo led to much discussion about his fan casting as Wolverine. However, for me, the cameo was a bit of poetic justice.
DCU mishandled Cavill’s recasting, so not only did he turn around and go right to the MCU, but the franchise even joked about the whole ordeal while seemingly taking Cavill’s side in the matter. It’s especially funny because Cavill’s scenes were deleted from The Flash, which was the DCU’s failed attempt at a multiverse movie. So instead, Cavill camoed in the MCU’s multiverse movie Deadpool & Wolverine, which is already shaping up to be one of the biggest box office hits of the year with a $200 million opening. While The Flash‘s cameos were slammed, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s cameos are all anyone can talk about.
As mentioned above, fans had been left with a lingering feeling that the recasting drama was never wholly resolved. However, since Cavill made his official MCU debut in a movie that put The Flash to shame and used it to poke fun at the DCU’s Superman recasting, it feels like the whole incident finally has a satisfying conclusion.
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