Director James Gunn has shared the story of how he broke the news to actor Henry Cavill that he would not be reprising his role as Superman. In an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn revealed that a confusing timeline led to Cavill’s initial announcement before announcing roughly two months later that he was no longer moving forward.
Gunn described being “taken aback” by Cavill’s news and felt it was “unfair” to him. He and co-creator Peter Safran sat down with Cavill to discuss the situation, and the actor expressed a desire to be the one to share the news personally, rather than through Gunn or his team.
Gunn also revealed that there were outside influences at play who wanted to take on their own ideas for Superman. However, he maintains that he would love to work with Cavill again in the future, possibly as another character.
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/james-gunn-henry-cavill-superman-not-returning-1236323960