James Gunn has been called to direct the cinematic universe of DC Comics , and one of the first news.
it would be better to say one of the first confirmations, is one that fans have been waiting for years:
Henry Cavill will return in the role of Superman , not simply for a cameo like the one seen in Black Adam , but at least for another stand-alone film.
On balance, Cavill represents a crazy variant for what concerns the world of superheroes, because in spite of the fact that the films in which he participated did not collect unanimous consent, he has always convinced like Superman , indeed it can be said that perhaps from certain views has been largely underestimated.
A new Superman for a new century
Before playing Kal-El, Henry Cavill came from an interesting but not very spectacular career.
He first distinguished himself in Kevin Reynolds ‘ Montecristo , and then ended up in films such as Stardust, Little Red Riding Hood, Tristan and Isolde and in the TV series The Tudors , which basically attracted the attention of the Hollywood that matters to him. The final leap in quality, just to remain consistent, in another blockbuster according to many underrated and which did not go particularly well at the box office: Immortals , a sort of bloody fantasy set among the myths of ancient Greece.
There Cavill stood out for a not indifferent stage presence, a physicality and a sex appeal not for nothing, as well as for that good boy face that for many other actors has often been a condemnation.
Zack Snyder chose him to be the new Superman. The other names were those of Matthew Goode, James Holzier, Armie Hammer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Zac Efron and Colin O’Donoghue .
Even today honestly, it’s hard to argue about how much this Englishman from the Jersey islands managed to be perfectly credible in the role of the superhero par excellence.
To be honest, many other actors had tried to collect Christopher Reeve ‘s legacy , and the thought can only go to the far from negligible Brandon Routh , but the absolutely nefarious outcome of Superman Returns , should always be taken into consideration. by anyone who values Snyder’s Man of Steel very severely .
That Superman full of doubts and perplexities, in a hostile world, is very different from the one that the saga had given us since the 70s. Yes, because now that Henry Cavill is back, an absolutely fundamental aspect concerns how in reality his Kal-El has always been perfectly consistent with the idea that Superman good or bad has to deal with the world, and by world we mean the real one, that of this twenty-first century so different from the Reagan era.
The loneliness of the different from the norm
The Man of Steel script was written by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer , not just any two guys. He was not mistaken who noticed big similarities between what Nolan had done in his trilogy dedicated to the Dark Knight and different aspects of this Superman , who as in the original comic grows on a farm but we see him not knowing exactly who he is, what to do with those powers that hides from the world.
Man of Steel came out in 2013, the world was besieged not only by a very serious economic crisis, by terrorism, by a conflict between West and East, and in general by a transversal conflict. Pessimism reigned, so to propose tout court an optimistic, sunny Superman , who would bring the famous hope without any floor, without any inner struggle, would have been somewhat laughable.
Man of Steel can be criticized for other elements, such as poor development of the surrounding characters, including Lois Lane , as well as for how it has in some ways modified some of the narrative pillars connected to Superman ‘s identity and code of behavior .
But the reality is that he showed it to us alone, lost, with no clear idea or direction to take, and it was one of the best moves that could be done, and it allowed Henry Cavill to prove that he wasn’t just a pretty face on. a body of a Greek statue.
In him several times a very deep inner conflict emerges, as well as the fact of being connected to a moral code of behavior based on invisibility, on the certainty that was incultated to him by his father Jonathan Kent : man treats those who are different from the norm and what he does not understand in the same way, that is, with hostility, with hatred and with violence. Difficult to blame him, difficult not to see the will to give us a superhero less sure of himself because he is more connected to reality, to the world in which he lives.
A more human and less divine Superman
Jor-El , a convincing Russell Crowe , was revived thanks to artificial intelligence, was confronted with his son, and his teachings are essentially the opposite of those of Jonathan Kent . Jor-El talks to him about responsibility, about the need to save the planet and lead humanity with his example.
Basic cavill throughout the film tries to figure out who he is, what the future holds for him, what his role is because he knows very well that he is an alien on this planet. Man of Steel was therefore also a coming-of-age tale, which then guided us towards what Superman was in Dawn of Justice and Justice League : the protector par excellence, armed with generosity and altruism.
But first, before there was this boy without an identity, paradoxically truly free only when Jonathan Kent , who often has too stringent authority over him, sacrifices himself to keep the secret of his true nature.
We can certainly discuss how that scene may still seem strange today, according to some very bad, but the reality is that in that death there is the backbone of a concept of self-determination that begins to move. Yet at the same time, without Jonathan Kent , Clark Kent and Superman would not coexist, he would not feel fully involved in this humanity within which he hides in full light, he would not understand fragility, fear and our daily life towards happiness. which we often do not reach. Yes, without a doubt ever since that first film, Henry Cavill has been very different from Christopher Reeve, but at the same time he was able to push himself and take us towards new horizons. He humanized what has always been a rather difficult character to empathize with, by virtue of a substantially divine and biblical superiority.
His Superman is not divine, he is human, but in a much less Manichean way than that of Reeves, who for good or bad was often very distant from man in the general sense. Cavill, on the other hand, feels like a man like any other, not a Kryptonian, he embraces the absolutely modern concept that home is where you choose to stay, not where you were born.