Warner Bros.’ new DCEU has found a way forward without its biggest stars, but leaving Superman behind would be a big mistake. With WB and the DCEU finding its feet after a few difficult years of critical disappointment, it’s an exciting time to be a DC fan. Yet it’s happening without the franchise’s two biggest and most historically significant characters at the helm. It seems almost baffling to any comic book fan that DC’s most recent movie iterations of Batman and Superman stumbled so significantly.

While Man of Steel kicked off a new age of the DC canon on the big screen with relative success, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was a notorious critical disaster upon release, and Justice League’s financial under-performance had fans wondering if the franchise was on life support. Yet a new way forward formed through DC’s other heroes. Wonder Woman was a true cultural zeitgeist, Aquaman made over $1 billion worldwide, and while Suicide Squad wasn’t exactly beloved, the upcoming sequel/reboot helmed by James Gunn has garnered much enthusiasm. Now, the upcoming Shazam! has garnered rave reviews and looks set to do well at the box office. The future of DC looks bright, from the Wonder Woman sequel to the Birds of Prey movie to the highly intriguing Joker film that will happen separate from the DCEU canon. While it seems likely that Batman and Superman may make cameos or be referenced in some of these films (a Superman cameo in Shazam! has long been rumored), it’s notable that they are no longer front and center in this narrative.

Batman will return to the big screen in Matt Reeves’s solo film, The Batman, although Ben Affleck will not reprise his role as Bruce Wayne. However, the future of Superman is far less sure. A Man of Steel sequel has been oft-reported since 2016, where it was reportedly a top priority for WB - but nothing official has come from it. It didn’t help that many of Superman’s themes were bungled in Batman V Superman, then rumors began to swirl that Henry Cavill would no longer be playing the lead role. Cavill’s team refuted the claims that he was holding out on signing up for more Superman due to demands over producer credit and script approval. However, his future still remains unclear, especially now that Affleck has bowed out as Batman. Right now, he doesn’t seem to be linked to any officially announced DC projects beyond that much-talked about Shazam! cameo and the upcoming DC Super Pets movie.

  • This Page: How The DCEU Is Replacing Superman Page 2: Why DCEU Still Needs Superman & What They Should Do

The DCEU’s New Heroes Can Replace Superman

In one way, removing Superman and Batman from the center of the DCEU is exciting and creatively unique. If DC fans had been told five years ago that the most profitable film in the franchise would be Aquaman, it’s doubtful anyone would believe that. Superman and Batman have dominated the DC landscape of cinema for decades now and been a crucial part of comic book movie history. It’s hard to have a conversation about the best superhero films ever made without mentioning Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy or Christopher Reeves’ Superman films.

However, this new long-term plan from WB and DC to shift some of the focus to heroes with a much smaller and often non-existent cinematic footprint is one that carries many creative possibilities. It’s dramatically changed the tone of DC’s output, bringing a more consciously silly and vibrant approach to the franchise in comparison to the darker Zack Snyder led aesthetic that previously defined it. It’s also created a whole new series of heroes for audiences to see grow from their origins onward, adding instant freshness to a franchise where fans seen the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne repeated every few years like clockwork.

In this respect, the DCEU is replicating Marvel’s Phase 1. Marvel didn’t have the rights to arguably their most famous characters - Spider-Man and the X-Men - so they dialed back and focuse on less familiar figures to the general public, building them up to A-List status. For DC, the combination of Shazam, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman allows the DCEU to explore various facets of Superman without making nothing but Superman movies. It’s not hard to see why WB would want to pivot away from Clark Kent since Diana Prince and Arthur Curry’s solo movies made much more money than his, as well as having won over more critical favor. Right now, they need to commit to winning strategies, and Superman isn’t winning for them, especially not when compared to the so-called B-squad.

Page 2 of 2: Why DCEU Still Needs Superman & What They Should Do

Why Any DC Movie Universe Needs Superman

Still, it feels like a waste for DC and WB to just shelve Superman for the time being. It doesn’t hurt to give audiences time to miss a character but they’re not exactly doing the same for Batman, and he’s already got way more of a cinematic presence than Superman has ever had. Cavill’s most recent, and potentially final, appearance in the role was hampered by poor characterization and the now infamous CGI removal of his Mission: Impossible – Fallout mustache. Regardless of whether Cavill himself will don the cape once more or if Superman’s future liminal state happens with or without him, keeping the original embodiment of the superhero to the side-lines would be detrimental to DC, even with the savvy diversifying of their ensemble.

The Snyder iteration of Superman was a potentially interesting one - in a post-9/11 world where American domestic policy is built on fear of the unknown, how would people react to this all-powerful alien force coming to Earth and claiming to be their ally? - that never got the space or consistent narrative to truly develop. Regardless of what people think of Man of Steel or the evolution of the DCEU, it was always a questionable creative plan to spend every new movie hastily fixing problems in reshoots and post-production, if only because it greatly hampered how these arcs unfolded. Superman was the character who suffered the most from these issues, arguably even more than Batman, because Superman had his solo movie to establish his new iteration.

As the DCEU embraces a more positive and somewhat silly tone, jellyfish dresses and all, now would be the perfect time to bring back that most iconic version of Superman, the overwhelming force for good in the world who cares about everyone and remains unshakably heroic, even in the face of darkness. Given that Superman is one of the personal heroes in Shazam!, it would make more sense to keep him in the franchise as that influential force than to sideline him. There are so many great stories to be told about that sort of Superman, especially now that the DCEU is on more solid ground.

What The DC Should Do

It would be understandable if WB decided to let Cavill’s contract lapse and start over with another Superman. Cavill’s performance wasn’t especially well-received by general audiences - though his performance was lauded by fans - and Affleck’s retirement would give them greater freedom to wipe the slate clean for a new phase. Still, it’s not as though Cavill was unenthusiastic about playing the role (Cavill has routinely expressed his passion for Superman as well as his knowledge of Superman’s stories), and he can be very charismatic under the right direction (see The Man From U.N.C.L.E. or Mission: Impossible – Fallout for proof of that). However, with Netflix’s The Witcher TV show taking up so much of his time, it’s not impossible to see him bowing out for now, which would open up possibilities for recasting.

If DC Films simply wish to scale back Superman’s presence and let the rest of the DCEU develop without him being central to the narrative, then there’s certainly room for Cavill to go full Nick Fury and just pop in now and then for cameos, acting as the helpful leader of heroes throughout the DC landscape. It would help to widen the scope of the franchise without needlessly complicating the narratives and it would help to establish the breadth of influence Clark Kent has over this ensemble, something that makes Superman so inimitably special. It’s understandable why WB and the DCEU would want to let Superman take a backseat while formerly supporting players find their moment in the spotlight, but as the franchise moves forward with a more secure tone and intent, there’s most certainly a way for the Man of Steel to join them on that journey.

More: The DCEU Is Dead, Long Live The DCEU

  • Shazam! Release Date: 2019-04-05 Joker Release Date: 2019-10-04 Birds of Prey Release Date: 2020-02-07 Wonder Woman 2 Release Date: 2020-12-25 Suicide Squad 2 Release Date: 2021-08-06 Super Pets Release Date: 2022-07-29 The Batman Release Date: 2022-03-04