Henry Cavill’s Superman sequel, Man of Steel 2, was tragically canceled in the months surrounding the reveal of James Gunn’s DCU. Cavill’s depiction of Superman has been largely lauded ever since he debuted in 2013’s Man of Steel, after which he reprised his role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and most recently, Black Adam. For his part, Cavill was also a fan of the role, with his departure being one of the more controversial consequences of the DCU’s existence.

It wasn’t, of course, always supposed to be this way. Man of Steel remains one of the DCEU’s most successful movies, which practically necessitated a solo sequel for the titular hero. Instead, the ill-fated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice saw him share the screen with the Caped Crusader, with middling to poor reviews spelling the beginning of the end of the DCEU as it became an early example of the DCEU’s mismanagement of these beloved IPs. Still, Man of Steel 2 was planned right up until the DCEU’s death knell.

Man Of Steel 2’s History Explained

Man of Steel 2 entered the planning stage around 2016, where it remained for several years following the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in which Superman notably “died.” Justice League, which resurrected Superman, was then released in 2017, facilitating Cavill’s return in a second solo movie. He would not reprise his role in person, however, until 2022’s Black Adam (not counting Zack Snyder’s Justice League). It was after this that Cavill confirmed that he would be returning to the DCEU via social media, which was accompanied by an image of him in his iconic suit.

It was around that time that Man of Steel 2 began development in earnest, with Peaky Blinders creator, Steven Knight, reportedly in charge of the story. Had it gone ahead, the movie would have been released over a decade after Superman’s first solo outing in 2013, sparking speculation over how the franchise would handle such a gap. This led some to believe it would comprise a soft reboot in a similar vein to Gunn’s acclaimed The Suicide Squad, which would entail recasting certain actors like Amy Adams as Lois Lane.

What Was Revealed About Man of Steel 2’s Plot

Insiders revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that Man of Steel 2 would bring the iconic Superman villain, Brainiac, into the fold in his live-action cinematic debut. While Brainiac has made appearances in the live-action Superman showsSmallville and Krypton, he would have been the perfect villain for DC to work into the cinematic franchise, had the movie gone ahead. The classic DC villain is off-the-wall enough to comprise part of a particularly compelling story, and certainly one that would at least fit into the brand-new DCU narrative.

Further details are scarce. Brainiac is known for attempting to collect all the knowledge in the known universe, flying a skull-shaped spaceship, and shrinking cities to sizes that he can fit into bottles. It is the latter tidbit that puts him in direct opposition with Superman, as he shrunk Krypton’s capital city, Kandor, before attempting to do the same to Earth’s cities. Evidently, this would have helped to flesh out Cavill’s Superman as more of his Kryptonian heritage is dragged up and his protectiveness of Earth develops. Unfortunately, however, Knight’s pitch was reportedly rejected.

Why Man of Steel 2 Was Canceled

It didn’t take long before Cavill’s confirmation of a grand return was contradicted by James Gunn in late 2022, as the newly-instated co-CEO of DC Studios revealed that Superman would be rebooted. Cavill would later regrettably confirm this, with the amicable clarification that James Gunn and Peter Safran “have a universe to build” in which a younger Superman would appear in the early stages of his superhero career. Almost as soon as Gunn assumed the role in November 2022, Man of Steel 2 was scrapped.

Given the decade-spanning gulf between Cavill’s solo outings, this wasn’t too surprising. Upon Gunn’s assumption of the co-CEO role and his announcement of the DCU, speculation had already begun swirling around Cavill’s continued involvement before confirmation that a new actor would take on the role in a straight reboot of the franchise instead of Man of Steel 2. Based on Gunn’s purported inspirations for the new movie, Superman: Legacy, it seems the DCU will instead explore a brighter take on the Man of Steel in a departure from Cavill’s darker rendition. Hopefully, it will leave Cavill’s legacy intact.