The Real Reason Henry Cavill Isn't Commenting On His Future As Superman

Henry Cavill is an actor with a lot of irons in the fire. The Witcher is set to begin filming season 2 in August, Enola Holmes is coming in the fall, and of course, we all have Zack Snyder's Justice League to look forward to in 2021. One thing he doesn't have officially lined up, however, is another outing as Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman.

To date, Cavill has made three feature film appearances as Superman: Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League. Now, it's true that all of those films received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics and some fans. But that doesn't mean DC Extended Universe adherents aren't still eager to know when Superman will be flying back into action, and whether or not Cavill will be donning the iconic red cape.

So, is Cavill coming back to play Superman? Sadly, we don't have a clear answer at the moment, and one person you won't be getting clarification from is Cavill himself. When Variety asked him recently about whether he might create a burner account to anonymously confirm or deny any of the rumors floating around online, the actor said, "I'm not going to lie; I've been very tempted, but there's something about that, that feels deeply immoral. When it's about Superman, and if I'm representing Superman, it just feels like the wrong thing to do."

While that certainly seems like the moral route to take, it is probably frustrating for fans who have been trying to piece together Superman movie rumors for nearly half a decade.

The mystery of whether Cavill will return for another Superman-centric flick — or in any movie, really — has been plaguing fans of the DCEU for years. Way back in 2016, there were reports that a Man of Steel sequel was in the works. However, after lying dormant for a few years, The Hollywood Reporter dropped a story that Cavill was walking away from the role for good.

After that bombshell, Cavill helpfully cleared things up by... releasing an incredibly strange and cryptic Instagram video that basically just confused fans even more. Recently, rumors have been swirling that Cavill would indeed be back to play Superman in a future DCEU film. What kind of film and how big of an appearance, though, is still apparently unknown. One thing those rumors did state is that it's very unlikely that it will be a sequel to Man of Steel, or any other standalone Superman movie.

For his part, Cavill told Variety, "Superman is a fantastic character... And in an ideal world, I would absolutely love to play the character again." As for all the rumors and speculation, he adhered to the Superman moral code and said only, "One day, people will know the truth, and if they don't know it now, it's okay."