Henry Cavill Gives DC's Black Superman Movie His Blessing: 'Far More Than Skin Color'

Even as Henry Cavill prepares to swing into battle in a blond wig for "The Witcher" season 2, he's still got a soft spot for another of his heroic characters: Superman. Cavill has said he'd still love to return as Clark Kent, but he's also supportive of seeing other versions of the character -- including a Black Superman.

There are actually two Black Superman projects currently in development. One is a movie, produced by J.J. Abrams' company Bad Robot and written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, which will be about Calvin Ellis, a character introduced in DC Comics as the Superman of Earth-23. The other is a HBO Max series with Michael B. Jordan ("Black Panther") attached as executive producer, which will be about Earth-2's Val-Zod, another Kryptonian hero from an alternate universe who took up the mantle of Superman after making a new home on Earth.

Given how often Hollywood projects tend to fall into development hell, especially in the delicate early stages, one or both of these projects could still end up getting canned. However, one person that's rooting for them is none other than Superman himself. In a recent profile at The Hollywood Reporter, Cavill was asked about his thoughts about the upcoming Black Superman movie. He had only positive things to say, and pointed out that there can easily be more than one Superman at the same time:

"It's exciting — Superman's far more than skin color. Superman is an ideal. Superman's an extraordinary thing that lives within our hearts. Why not have multiple Supermen going on? Joaquin Phoenix did a wonderful Joker movie; so what if it's not tied to the rest of [the franchise]? They have multiple Superman comic book storylines happening at the same time."

'Superman's Far More Than Skin Color.'

DC's parent company (currently called WarnerMedia, soon to be called Warner Bros. Discovery) was once wary of having multiple versions of the same superhero on screens at the same time. However, that's no longer the case. Grant Gustin's Barry Allen (in The CW's "The Flash" TV show) and Ezra Miller's Barry Allen (who first appeared in "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" and will soon star in his own upcoming solo movie) have peacefully coexisted with ease. The CW now has its own Superman in the form of Tyler Hoechlin, introduced in "Supergirl" and now leading the cast of "Superman and Lois."

Far from diluting the appeal of superheroes, having different versions of the same character at the same time has actually become rather fashionable. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" brought together a chaotic collection of spider-persons, ranging from an anime schoolgirl to a cartoon pig, and soon "Spider-Man: No Way Home" will also have fun smashing different Spider-Man universes together on the big screen. Meanwhile, "The Flash" will see Michael Keaton reprising his role as Batman alongside Ben Affleck's iteration of the character in its own multiverse mash-up.

As Cavill points out, having a different character taking up the mantle of "Superman" is an opportunity to explore what that name really means beyond "Clark Kent's alter ego."

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