The news that J.J. Abrams is producing a Superman reboot for Warner Bros., one that’s not expected to involve Henry Cavill, doesn’t affect the actor’s schedule in any sort of meaningful fashion. After all, it’s been close to eight years since Man of Steel first hit theaters, and if Warner Bros. wanted a sequel to the blockbuster that launched the entire DCEU, then they’d have probably made it by now.
When the actor was first announced as Superman in January 2011, Christian Bale was Hollywood’s Batman, and The Dark Knight Rises was still eighteen months away from being released. Since then, Cavill has seen Ben Affleck play the DCEU’s version of the Caped Crusader, retire from the role and then come back, as well as Robert Pattinson signing on to reboot the character in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Throughout all of this, Man of Steel 2 has never gained any sort of real traction, so the 37 year-old probably made peace with not getting his own sequel a long time ago.
However, that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from going into overdrive, with insider Daniel Richtman dropping a succession of Cavill-related scoops over the last week or so. The tipster’s latest report is that Robert Downey Jr. is looking to collaborate with The Witcher star on a new project, but there’s no indication as to what, when, where or why.
Warner Bros.’ Sherlock Holmes 3 doesn’t look like it’ll be happening anytime soon, and with the former Iron Man keen to expand the sleuthing universe, let’s just spitball and hope that it’s an Avengers-style crossover for the literary icon. Rope in Netflix’s Henry Cavill and Millie Bobby Brown as his kid sister, throw in the BBC’s Benedict Cumerbatch, CBS’ Jonny Lee Miller, 20th Century Studios’ Ian McKellen and Sony’s Will Ferrell, and you’ve got the multiversal detective blockbuster of a lifetime.
