Henry Cavill’s ‘Deal’ To Return To DC As Superman Was Reportedly Just A Verbal Agreement

If you are wondering how exactly The Rock got Henry Cavill to return as Superman for a Black Adam cameo, only to have that idea immediately thrown out the window, look no further than how this all came together, according to new insider reporting.

While The Rock’s ex-wife and producing partner, and Henry Cavill’s manager, Dany Garcia, got Cavill a $250,000 payday for the exceptionally brief cameo, the problem was that Cavill’s deal to return to the DCEU as Superman was not actually a deal at all. THR reports that this was never more than a verbal agreement.

Naturally, this fell apart in an incredibly short time without any sort of actual contract in place. Cavill showed up in Black Adam on October 21. James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed co-heads of DC just four days later on October 25. And then this past week, Gunn had his meeting with Cavill to tell him he would not be back as Superman after all, though maybe they could do something in the future.

The THR piece describes Cavill as just a “pawn” in The Rock’s “failed attempt to control a piece of DC.” It’s the latest in a long list of headlines that have been pretty bad for The Rock as to how all this went down:

• The Rock has been using questionable accounting to try and prove that Black Adam was actually profitable.

• It’s been reported that The Rock turned down a Black Adam cameo in the upcoming Shazam film, despite the fact that he’s always been meant to be a rival to that hero.
• The Rock has recently unfollowed WB and Black Adam official Instagram accounts, and has had little to say publicly in the wake of Cavill’s departure, pivoting to his wide array of other projects from his energy drink to the XFL. His declaration that Black Adam would shift the balance of power in the DC Universe has been turned into a meme online, and it seems almost certain that Gunn and Safran’s future plans for DC will have little room for Black Adam and will not want to do battle with The Rock for control.

In short, it seems like what happened was:

The Rock saw a power vacuum in DC leadership, and used that opportunity to press for his own vision, which was elevating Black Adam, bringing back Cavill as Superman and eventually having the two of them team-up/fight in a megablockbuster. The Rock more or less spelled out Cavill’s return as Superman ahead of time to help goose Black Adam box office numbers, and his ex-wife Dany Garcia actually outright spoiled the cameo with social media screenshots of his appearance as the premiere was airing.

But nothing was secure. Cavill’s deal was not a deal, it was a contract for a cameo or two with no actual official deal in place to get him to return. Days after he debuted, new heads of DC were appointed that did not have to answer to The Rock or his plans. And now, it’s clear they’re not going to be doing anything remotely like what he wanted, not that Black Adam has the box office legs to stand on to declare it should be a significant part of the DC Universe going forward anyway.

Messy, messy, all around.

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