How Zack Snyder convinced Warner Bros. to let Henry Cavill be Superman

Henry Cavill is 35 years old today, and to celebrate his birthday Man of Steel director Zack Snyder shared a photo of Cavill in the classic Christopher Reeve Superman costume.

"This was the shot I did to show the studio that this was my Superman," Snyder captioned the photo on Vero. "They agreed. Got the suit from Warner archives and Henry honored its legacy. Happy birthday my brother."

Last summer, Snyder shared a behind-the-scenes photo of Cavill in the classic Superman costume. It's cool to see the new action shot above that helped him convince Warner Bros. that Cavill was the right guy for the job.

Last month Cavill confirmed that he's had talks about Man of Steel 2, and director Christopher McQuarrie seems interested in making the movie. Hopefully Warner Bros. will have some official Man of Steel 2 news to share soon.

344 comments

Carver

May 5, 2018

One of the best casting decisions yet.

gabi bats

May 5, 2018

Ma Superman!!
https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

DudeofSteel1Million
May 6, 2018
Ma Superman too!!!
https://imgc.allpostersimag...

myzterius

May 5, 2018

Just watched ant-man trailer, i guess the dceu lost Laurence Fishburne. That sucks.

WhiteKnightLegge
May 5, 2018
Can't blame him.
1. myzterius
  May 5, 2018
  True
Hunter Zolomon
May 5, 2018
He was great as Perry as well.
1. myzterius
  May 5, 2018
  I agree. Thats all over now though.
2. Ezee23
  May 7, 2018
  Underused? He's Perry White, guys. He exists only because the Daily Planet is a thing. No Daily Planet, no Perry White. Now, if the Daily Planet had a bigger role, like in Superman Return, then I'd get the underused argument.
  1. Ezee23
    May 7, 2018
    But... what else would you have him do, he's only Perry White.
Nightwing Fan J
May 5, 2018
It doesn't have to be mutually exclusive. He can be in both.
1. myzterius
  May 5, 2018
  If he was a no name, maybe, and we dont know how big his role will be. Im pretty sure actors cant be in both.
  1. Nightwing Fan J
    May 5, 2018
    Perry White and Goliath. Neither are huge roles as far as I can tell. I'm willing to bet he won't even be in any more Marvel movies after this anyway.
    1. myzterius
      May 5, 2018
      Goliath is a bigger role than perry white, and he could very well be in ant man 3 and avengers 4 as well, you never know.
  2. myzterius
    May 6, 2018
    Lol, that doesn't really count though, she's not a household name, she's in gotham(tv show) and in deadpool( movie that is not connected to the mcu).
2. Ezee23
  May 7, 2018
  Too right, it's not impossible. And this is Perry White we're talking about, not exactly a must have in every Superman movie.
Ezee23
May 7, 2018
He's Perry White, like Jimmy Olson, he need not always be around.

UltimateEdition

May 5, 2018

so much class. Unlike many of the haters here.

Ksigri

May 5, 2018

Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot have birthdays so close? Interesting!

Wazzapova
May 5, 2018
And in a semi-related note, Adrianne Palicki (who played Wonder Woman in the un-aired NBC pilot) has a 34th birthday on May 6th!
1. Ksigri
  May 7, 2018
  wow! she's so young! hahaha so the next actor who plays batman, if Ben Affleck is not around, should also have a birthday around here since the trinity is so close! :P

Nightwing Fan J

May 5, 2018

For all the people who say "he's nothing like Superman" https://uploads.disquscdn.c... https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Kouglof
May 6, 2018
Haters will tell you "golden age comics are not accurate, New52 is the most accurate CB ever made thanks to God Geoff Johns".
1. Nightwing Fan J
  May 6, 2018
  Geoff is a great writer and all, but he messed up big time with the New 52.
DudeofSteel1Million
May 6, 2018
He's not even like the Golden Age Superman anyways. The GA Superman killed people without guilt or remorse and did what needed to be done no questions asked.
The DCEU Superman constantly doubts himself and feels guilt and remorse for all the bad events transpiring around him. He also only killed ONE PERSON and crumbled to his knees in anguish over it (He killed Doomsday, too, but even Post Crisis Superman did that knowing there was no other alternative).
He's very much like the New Earth/Post-Crisis Superman mixed with traces of the Earth One and New 52 Superman.
1. Nightwing Fan J
  May 6, 2018
  I don't mean to say he's strictly the golden age Superman, but he does share many qualities with him.I always thought the story had the most in common with Superman: Earth One anyway. Snyder must have used it as inspiration since it was fairly new at the time.
  1. DudeofSteel1Million
    May 6, 2018
    I know what you meant. I was just stating how fans don't even need to compare the two as a justification for his actions when more modern incarnations have done the same thing.
    And yes, MOS is very much based on Earth One - down to details like Tyrell's broadcast threat to the world, Superman's first appearance being brought about by an alien invasion, the red sun laser trapping Superman has similarities to the gravity beam terraforming, and of course the film and the comic end with Kal-El developing the Clark Kent disguise.
    1. Nightwing Fan J
      May 6, 2018
      Oh I gotcha. Yeah those are about all the similarities I could see too. I think if they adapted Superman: Earth One vol. 2 into MoS2, that would be great. Parasite was awesome in that. Also, I love Superman's costume in that book. I love the yellow around the shield. I'd like to see that in a movie too. https://uploads.disquscdn.c...
    2. DudeofSteel1Million
      May 6, 2018
      Volume 2 would be good. But even better, I hope they adapt Superman #775 "What's So Funny about Truth, Justice and the American Way?" It's such a relevant story for our time that it would be great to see it adapted.
    3. Nightwing Fan J
      May 6, 2018
      I'd love that too. There's an infinite supply of good Superman stories. We just need the right person to bring them to life.
2. Kouglof
  May 6, 2018
  When I see Man of Steel, I just see The Death of Superman rip-off for the Superman versus Doomsday battle, but in the movie Doomsday is Zod, the funny part is that Zod becomes a Doomsday in BvS.

Nightwing Fan J

May 5, 2018

Cavill>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Reeve

Red Devils
May 6, 2018
Whole heartily agree.
1. razorstar90
  May 6, 2018
  Notice how only hardcore DCEU fans think this and no one outside of that bubble agrees with you. There are probably some folks out there that think Clooney did a great job as Batman too
  1. Nightwing Fan J
    May 6, 2018
    I'm not saying Reeve was bad. I'm just saying that Cavill is just so much better. He's a perfect fit.
Hunter Zolomon
May 6, 2018
I disagree, i love Cavill a lot as Superman but Reeve's is so iconic as him and looked so much like Superman that even now most comic books use Reeve's as to what Clark looks like.
1. Nightwing Fan J
  May 6, 2018
  Can't argue with that logic

Nahuel Benvenuto

May 5, 2018

lol i love this

Queef Police

May 5, 2018

damn he young as hell

FUN

May 5, 2018

lmao, ur just the same, wanking to interracial cuckold porn.

Der Schlagzeuger

May 6, 2018

Anybody here that Avengers: infinity war hit 1 billing worldwide in only 11 days? That's crazy.

Der Schlagzeuger
May 6, 2018
Damn, who knows where this thing will end? I just saw it for a second time last night and hope to get a third viewing in sometime this week.

Schuyler Finley

May 6, 2018

Just walked in uni to see this whiz kid playing Man of Steel theme! @ZackSnyder @HansZimmer @Junkie_XL #manofsteel pic.twitter.com/nMIMHXgjis
— Roro (@roro_cad) May 4, 2018

Aleksander Bibik

May 6, 2018

Henry is the best Superman ever.

Michael Douglas

May 6, 2018

Chis Reeve would hate what Synder has done with Superman. And Cavill looks like a cosplay compared to Reeve in that photo.

Kouglof
May 6, 2018
You don't know what Christopher Reeve would have thought about this Superman.
Zack Snyder: "If you can put on that suit and pull it off that’s an awesome achievement… He walked out, and no one laughed. Other actors put that suit on, and it’s a joke, even if they’re great actors. Henry put it on, and he exuded this kind of crazy-calm confidence that just made me go ‘Wow.’ Okay: This was Superman.’"
Source: http://www.slashfilm.com/he...
DudeofSteel1Million
May 6, 2018
Christopher Reeve apparently loved Smallville despite how many liberties it took with the mythos enough that he played a part on the show.
With that in mind, I have little doubt that he'd actually be one of Cavill 's biggest supporters if he were still around.
Although let's be real - it's not like Reeve, great as he was, could be considered the expert on Superman. He did have a hand in writing Superman IV after all.

ShobiNaq

May 6, 2018

I've come to the realization that this website doesn't get any traffic if they don't mention Snyder in the title of every article. The guy won't really be involved in the future movies, aside from a producing credit, yet these writers can't stop talking about him, because of the traffic it generates (from the for snyder and against snyder crowd). Pretty pathetic and divisive. Making people argue and fight just for a quick buck. Very Fox News-ish of you guys.

FUN
May 6, 2018
Better than CNN.
DudeofSteel1Million
May 6, 2018
Maybe if people didn't feel the NEED to fight and argue, then this wouldn't happen.
But everyone wants to "trigger" the opposing side, so clearly they can't help themselves.
BROWN_KNIGHT 4 Trump
May 6, 2018
You mean very cnn like. I do agree with your point overall, but it was Cavills bday. It was just a shout out from Snyder.

FUN

May 6, 2018

Yeah go thank the MCU for letting your fanhood make a lil' cuck like you relevant. Except you're not.

BROWN_KNIGHT 4 Trump

May 6, 2018

My fav. Superman. Hope he gets more solo films and 1 more JL like film.

From Zachary Levy, perhaps he just teased the 7 deadly sins. https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Nightwing Fan J
May 6, 2018
Doesn't surprise me. They were a big part of the New 52 Shazam! story. https://uploads.disquscdn.c...
1. BROWN_KNIGHT 4 Trump
  May 6, 2018
  Indeed. A pic is circulating Affleck in bat-form again.
  1. attentionisattention
    May 6, 2018
    https://www.reddit.com/r/DC...
  2. Ezee23
    May 7, 2018
    Lets not get our hopes up.
    1. BROWN_KNIGHT 4 Trump
      May 7, 2018
      My hopes are in the subway tunnels. Just waiting for sdcc.