James Gunn’s Superman (2025) is soaring at the box office, having grossed over $500 million so far while receiving mostly positive reviews from audiences and critics. The DC Universe (DCU) has officially begun, with David Corenswet’s Last Son of Krypton ushering in a new era for DC in film and television, which is set to continue next year with Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and an upcoming Batman reboot titled The Brave and the Bold.But things could have been very different for this new DCU. In 2022, audiences were told that Henry Cavill, who famously portrayed Superman in Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Justice League (2017), Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), and Black Adam (2022) — all part of the now mostly-defunct DCEU (DC Extended Universe) — would be returning as the iconic character in the new wave of films and shows.However, in December of that year, Cavill released a statement saying that his future involvement as Superman was no longer moving forward after meeting with then-new DC Studios’ co-chairman and co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran. At the time, Variety reported that Cavill was being eyed to play a different DC character. So what happened?Credit: Inside the MagicThe Henry Cavill Back-and-ForthIn a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, James Gunn was asked about the debacle surrounding Henry Cavill’s promised return to the new DCU.Gunn explained that the confusion surrounding the actor’s involvement stemmed from Warner Bros. announcing the star’s return while he and Peter Safran were already outlining plans for a new Superman project.“It’s terrible,” Gunn said of breaking the news to Cavill that he wouldn’t be needed going forward. “We [he and Safran] were dealing with trying to figure out if we could do the job at DC Studios, and we were talking to David Zaslav [CEO and President of Warner Bros. Discovery] and all the legal people, they’re figuring out what our deals would be, and the day our deal closed, all of a sudden, they were announcing that Henry was back, and I’m like, ‘What is going on? We know what the plan is. We know what the plan is. The plan was to come in and do [a new] Superman.’ So it was really unfair to him and was a total bummer.”Credit: DC / Warner Bros.Gunn added that “a lot of people” at Warner Bros. “wanted to take on what they wanted to do with DC and were trying to force their way” but that “it was just never part of the equation for David Zaslav, who was the head of WBD [Warner Bros. Discovery].”Talking specifically about the moment he and Safran sat down with Cavill, he said, “So yeah, we came in and that was really unfortunate. I’m like, ‘This poor guy.’ He was an absolute gentleman; a great guy about it. He said, ‘The only thing I ask is that I’m able to reveal it myself as opposed to it coming from you guys'”.Cavill would indeed break the news to his fans on social media, which left many disappointed that his version of Superman would never return.Credit: DC / Warner BrosGunn “Would Love” to Have Cavill in the New DCUInterestingly, however, when Horrowitz asked Gunn, “Would it to be too confusing to cast him in your DC Universe?”, the Superman (2025) director didn’t hesitate.“As another character? Absolutely not,” he said. “I talked to him about it on that day. I would love to put Henry in something.Watch the interview below:From Superman to Wolverine to… Batman?Following Gunn’s comments, fans on Reddit are now beginning to fancast Henry Cavill as the new Bruce Wayne/Batman, despite the actor having played Superman in the DCEU, which also saw him team up with Ben Affleck’s iteration of the iconic Dark Knight.“I’d love Cavill as Batman. Sue me,” one Reddit user writes.“I’d be on board for it with zero hesitation,” another says. “I don’t care about the baggage. I don’t care about casual fan confusion, I actually think Henry Cavill is one of the top five working actors that could pull off a capable ‘peak of career’ Batman.”Credit: DC / Warner Bros.While the new Batman, who will appear in The Brave and the Bold (TBA) — although he could make an appearance in one of the films due out first, like Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow or Clayface (2026) — is yet to be announced, it may very well be Cavill.One Reddit user points out that Cavill could still play Batman despite having already played Superman, adding that “Ryan Reynolds was both Green Lantern and Deadpool” and that “Chris Evans was both Human Torch and Captain America.”Although another says fans would be “p*ssed” if Cavill is cast as the new DCU Batman.But Cavill’s DC “baggage” makes him a worthy candidate. Sure, it would probably be awkward and confusing for fans at first, but, as the Reddit user points out, he wouldn’t be the first actor to have had had two bites of the cherry in the superhero genre (his cameo as the “Cavillrine” in Deadpool & Wolverine doesn’t really count — although he would make a perfect full-time successor to Hugh Jackman).Credit: Marvel StudiosActors Who Have Played More Than One SuperheroRyan Reynolds played Green Lantern long before becoming the “Merc With a Mouth.” Chris Evans, who played Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for several years, previously portrayed Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in the original two Fantastic Four movies (a role he reprises in Deadpool & Wolverine).Ben Affleck himself was also known for having played Daredevil in the 2003 film of the same name before suiting up as Batman. More recently, Robert Downey Jr., best known for Tony Stark/Iron Man, was invited back into the MCU as Doctor Doom. And as for the new DCU, Aquaman star Jason Momoa has been cast as Lobo in the upcoming Supergirl film.Halle Berry also went from Storm to Catwoman then back to Storm. And Nicholas Cage, who played Ghost Rider on two occasions, finally got to appear as Superman in The Flash (2023).Credit: Inside the MagicCould Cavill Pull It Off for a Second Time?Cavill certainly has the physique, the acting chops, the screen presence, the likability, and the experience required to play a DC heavyweight like Batman.He’s also a proven hit with audiences. Affleck himself was heavily criticized when it was announced he’d be portraying the Dark Knight in the Snyderverse, but after seeing his performance in 2016’s Batman v Superman, fans were convinced he was the perfect choice.The question is whether Gunn and Safran will cast Cavill as Batman in the upcoming reboot. One thing’s for sure — if they do, it’s unlikely he’ll be playing a dark version of the character like Affleck’s portrayal (or even his own take on Superman). Now that we know what the new DCU looks like, with Superman (2025) giving audiences a more vibrant, poppy, and uplifting Man of Steel, Cavill would most likely slip into the cape and cowl of a Caped Crusader who shares more similarities with Adam West than any Bat-men of recent years.Superman (2025) is in theaters now. There’s no release date for The Brave and the Bold.Would you like to see Henry Cavill play Batman in the new DCU? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!The post James Gunn May Have Just Revealed Who the New Batman Actor Is (He’s in the DCEU) appeared first on Inside the Magic.