Henry Cavill Says His Next Superman Will Be a ‘Joyful’ Movie

The following post contains SPOILERS for the post-credits scene from Black Adam. If you haven’t seen this seen yet, you must spend a lot of time off the internet. We are so jealous.

If you think you’re excited to see Henry Cavill back as Superman, that’s nothing compared to how thrilled Cavill himself is to be playing the Man of Steel again after five years where it looked like his time as DC Comics’ signature hero was done. After the disappointing performance of Justice League in theaters, Warner Bros. decided to move their big DC franchises in a new direction, making a Batman movie with Robert Pattinson instead of Ben Affleck and sidelining Cavill’s Clark Kent while they tried to relaunch the Superman franchise with a totally new spin on the character from producer J.J. Abrams.

But that movie has yet to appear, and in the post credits scene from Black Adam, it’s Henry Cavill’s Supes who shows up to talk with Dwayne Johnson about the future of the DC universe. Cavill has confirmed on social media that he is “officially” back as Superman for the forseeable future. Although we don’t know exactly where he will appear next, clearly his Black Adam cameo was not a one-off.

During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Cavill again confirmed he is “excited” to make a new Superman movie, and he gave a very interesting description of what he expects to make…

The character means so much to me. It’s been five years now and I’ve quite rightly, otherwise I shouldn’t deserve to wear the cape, but I’ve never given up hope. It’s amazing to be here now talking about it again. There is such a bright future ahead for the character. And I’m so excited to tell a story with an enormously joyful Superman.

Love or hate Cavill’s Superman in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League, the word “joyful” would really not apply to the guy. Zack Snyder’s conception of the character was much more an outsider who felt like he didn’t fit in on Earth and was unsure of how or even if he should help its people. Cavill’s Superman was much more insecure about himself than more upbeat and cheerful version of the guy played by Christopher Reeve, and who often appears in the pages of DC Comics.

Cavill’s Clark Kent also died in Batman v Superman and then was resurrected in Justice League, where (at least in Snyder’s director’s cut) he draped himself in an all-black version of his costume. Cavill’s Superman even killed his adversaries from time to time. In one case, he snapped a guy’s neck in a fashion that would not be described as a joyful act. So to see Cavill as a “joyful” Superman, well, that would be a very different film than what he’s made before.

Until then, you can see Cavill as Superman (briefly) in Black Adam, in theaters now.