Even though there at least two brand new Superman projects in the works at DC Films, fans are still pissed off because neither of them are set to feature the return of Henry Cavill’s canonical Kryptonian.
Producer J.J. Abrams and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates are developing one, while the other is being spearheaded by Michael B. Jordan and his Outlier Society production company. Despite taking top billing in the movie that launched the DCEU as we know it, Warner Bros. have never shown much interest in a Cavill-led Man of Steel sequel.
It’s come close to happening on a couple of occasions, but it’s now been five years since the actor even suited up, with his last outing under the spandex ending in a blaze of ignominy when the bottom half of his face was ruined by substandard CGI due to the whole Mission: Impossible – Fallout mustache debacle.
It might still happen one day, though, but Shazam! director David F. Sanderg has ruled himself out of the running. During a recent Instagram Live Q&A, the filmmaker admitted he would have jumped at the chance a while back, but he doesn’t seem interested in dealing with the more hardcore aspects of the fandom.
“At one point I would have said Superman but when there are so many different expectations and hardcore fans you’re going to piss off so many people no matter what you do. Seeing how people react to things like The Last Jedi makes me want to stay away from things like that. Shazam was perfect in that there hadn’t been that many adaptations before. There are still people who think it was done wrong but it was on a manageable level.”
He’s got a point, with Shazam! winning rave reviews from critics and going down a storm with audiences, and part of that was due to the unfamiliarity a lot of folks people had with the property, something that Superman will never be able to experience ever again.
