Henry Cavill Quotes ‘An American Tail’ as DC Studios Shakeup Reopens Superman Door
Few superhero comebacks have been teased, celebrated and then shelved as abruptly as Henry Cavill’s. His brief return in a post-credits scene for ‘Black Adam’ in late 2022 briefly reignited hope among fans, only for the new DC Studios regime to extinguish it weeks later. The whiplash left a lot of people confused about where his Man of Steel actually stood.
James Gunn and Peter Safran eventually addressed it head-on. Gunn clarified that Cavill was never fired because he was never cast in the first place. The studio then moved on with a new Superman, as Gunn introduced David Corenswet in 2025’s ‘Superman’, with a follow-up titled ‘Man of Tomorrow’ still in the works.
Then came a leadership shake-up few saw coming. Skydance announced on Nov. 9 that Gunn and Safran will step down as co-chairmen and CEOs effective Dec. 1, with former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham succeeding them as president and chief creative officer. The change follows Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which closed in October.
Into that uncertainty stepped Cavill himself. ComicBook.com shared a quote on X from the actor on the possibility of returning as Superman amid the leadership change, crediting Inverse as the source. “As the pigeon sang to Fievel in ‘An American Tail,’ ‘never say never.’ And I buy into that… I’ve had such a wonderful time playing Superman in the past. I would never say never now.”
Cavill gave the answer when Inverse asked whether he would ever return to the role at some point in his career. The conversation grew out of his collaboration with Googlebook on ‘Mustache Protocol,’ a retro game that revisits the infamous mustache controversy from ‘Justice League.’ The 16-bit game supports the men’s health charity Movember, with Google donating $11 per play from Nov. 11 to 30, up to $500,000.
It is worth stressing that Cavill announced nothing here. He simply declined to close a door that fans have kept propped open for years. ComicBook.com’s own coverage noted that Michael Keaton once spent 31 years away from Batman, so stranger things have happened.
Not everyone is thrilled about the revival of the conversation. SlashFilm called the renewed talk tiresome and argued that Skydance CEO David Ellison appears poised to dismantle much of what Gunn built before another reboot. That is the outlet’s read on the situation, and Skydance has not confirmed any such plan in the reporting reviewed here.
Fans, meanwhile, have had reasons of their own to keep hoping. Zack Snyder previously said he had plans for a solo Cavill sequel involving Brainiac, though reports at the time stressed there were no plans for a theatrical continuation featuring Cavill as Superman. Cavill’s comment doesn’t change that status.
What it does is keep the possibility alive while the studio’s direction remains an open question. With Latcham stepping in on Dec. 1 and Corenswet’s future in the role not yet spelled out, the next chapter of DC’s Superman story is far from settled. For now, Cavill’s “never say never” will have to do.
