Henry Cavill Reportedly Encouraged By J.K. Simmons Returning For Batgirl

At this stage, Warner Bros. and DC Films clearly don’t give a flying f*ck about canon or continuity, unless The Flash ends up wiping the slate completely clean as has been rumored several times in the past.

One case in point is James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, which doesn’t acknowledge or reference David Ayer’s opener at all. However, both Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn interacted with Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne or Batman, which would surely make the movie part of Zack Snyder’s timeline. By that logic, then, Idris Elba’s Bloodsport putting Superman in the hospital would mean Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel.

J.K. Simmons entering talks to return as Commissioner Gordon in Batgirl only muddies the waters further, because he too is part of the SnyderVerse, but the HBO Max exclusive hasn’t confirmed or denied what part of the shared universe it occupies, if it even does at all.

That being said, we’re hearing from our sources – the same ones who told us Affleck was returning as Batman in The Flash long before it was confirmed – that Cavill is reportedly encouraged by Simmons’ return to the fold, because it indicates that the door isn’t completely closed on SnyderVerse alumni, especially a character who made their one and only appearance in Justice League.

Obviously, it doesn’t mean that anything is guaranteed to come out of it, and Cavill’s Superman was the only member of the team Simmons’ Jim Gordon didn’t meet, but it means there’s still hope that we could be seeing his Kryptonian back on our screens eventually, and the chatter isn’t going to go away until it happens, or the actor officially exits as the iconic superhero.