Last night it was reported – but still officially unconfirmed – that Henry Cavill’s time as Superman has come to an end, with talks between Warner Bros. and the actor for a cameo in Shazam! having broken down, throwing the future of the DCEU’s Man of Steel into doubt.
It’s long been rumoured that Superman would make an appearance in next year’s Zachary Levi-headlined solo blockbuster, and if a report from El Mayimbe of The Wrap is to be believed, the cameo would have came at the end of the movie and served as a tease for Shazam joining the Justice League at some point down the line.
“The Superman cameo in Shazam! was supposed to be Clark at the end of the movie meeting with Billy Batson, the kid who [turns into] Shazam, telling him ‘Hey, we’re gonna keep an eye on you,’ that kind of thing.”
Unless there’s a U-turn by Warner Bros. and Cavill and his team – or Warner Bros. decided to go down the recasting route, stat – then it seems unlikely that we’ll get to see Superman and Shazam sharing the screen any time soon.
SEE ALSO: Henry Cavill shares cryptic video following rumours of Superman exit
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Asher Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Zachary Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong).”
Shazam will see Zachary Levi starring as the titular superhero, with Asher Angel as his young alter-ego Billy Batson, Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña, Grace Fulton as Mary Marvel, Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, Djimon Hounsou as the Wizard, Adam Brody as Freddie Freeman, Ross Butler as Eugene Choi, D. J. Cotrona as Pedro Pena, Meagan Good as Darla Dudley, and Michelle Borth as Mary Bromfield. The film is set for release on April 5th 2019.