It may be Comic-Con weekend, but if you see Henry Cavill trending on social media, it’s not because of a surprise appearance by the actor at the fan-favorite convention.
On Wednesday, Deadline reported hearing “buzz” that Cavill would make a surprise appearance during Warner Bros.’ Saturday Hall H panel to talk about the future of his Superman character. The rumor then spread like wildfire, igniting expectations for fans that Cavill would not only take part in the Comic-Con panel, but also share news about Superman’s future.
None of that came to pass on Saturday morning, when Warner Bros.’ panel was used to tease only two projects: “Black Adam” with Dwayne Johnson, director Jaume Collet-Serra and other cast members in attendance, and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” with Zachary Levi, Lucy Liu and others hyping up the DC sequel.
According to insiders with knowledge of the situation, Cavill was never going to come to San Diego for Comic-Con this weekend to talk up more Superman.
The rumor ended up upstaging Warner Bros.’ panel, with fans waiting for another shoe to drop when in fact the studio only intended on showcasing the next two DC films slated to hit theaters later this year. The panel was more muted than years past, focusing on New Line’s “Black Adam” and “Shazam! 2” as the studio declined to showcase footage from two other DC projects currently in post-production, “The Flash” and “Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom.”
Cavill has not played Superman since 2017’s “Justice League,” with footage the actor shot during director Zack Snyder’s original round of photography resurfaced as part of “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” that was released on HBO Max in 2021.
The actor made his Superman debut in 2013’s Snyder-directed reboot “Man of Steel,” but has yet to get a proper sequel of his own, reprising the role in the Batman-infused follow-up “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and the aforementioned team-up “Justice League.”
Cavill has long made clear he hoped to be able to play Superman again in a proper “Man of Steel” sequel, so rumors of his appearance put a lot of hope in plenty of SDCC attendees’ hearts. And when something that was never actually going to happen ended up, well, not happening, fans took their displeasure to social media.