Henry Cavill Felt ‘Justice League’ Was the First Time Audiences Saw the ‘True Superman’

Henry Cavill first made his appearance as Superman to the world in 2013’s Man of Steel. But he felt that Justice League was when his Superman finally aligned a bit more with his comic book counterpart.

Henry Cavill felt ‘Man of Steel’ was more grounded than other Superman films

Cavill’s Superman in Man of Steel was different than other live-action interpretations of the character’s mythology. Christopher Reeve’s Superman, for instance, was more accepted by the public, and a part of a more optimistic world.

Cavill, however, acknowledged that the world of Man of Steel wasn’t nearly as inviting to his Clark Kent. This was necessary to inform Zack Snyder’s vision of the character.

“How the character felt about the world around him, knowing that he was different from a very young age, was interesting to me, because people aren’t necessarily very good to him in this film. There are some good people in his journey, but generally, it’s people just taking advantage of the fact that he’s a head-down, quiet kind of chap, even though he’s quite big,” Cavill once said on Interview.

Cavill disagreed with the idea that his films were darker than other Superman projects.

“I think it’s more realistic,” Cavill argued. “The story exists in a darker world maybe in comparison to some of the other tellings, where Superman is more accepted and the colors are brighter—it’s literally darker. But as far as describing the movie and the character, it’s just more realistic—and in realism there are wonderful moments of light as well as darkness.”

Henry Cavill felt ‘Justice League’ was the first time audiences saw the true Superman

Cavill’s Superman experienced many changes from Man of Steel to Justice League. Some of those changes were due character development. Other changes had to do with events that happened behind-the-scenes. Due to personal reasons, Snyder couldn’t finish directing the 2017 film Justice League. Avengers filmmaker Joss Whedon would end up directing the project instead.

Cavill felt Justice League developed his Superman enough to where his personality matched the source material’s. To him, it was the natural evolution of the character that started with Man of Steel and Batman V. Superman.

“In my opinion this is the first time we see Superman in truth. We have seen the origin story of Superman. We have seen the downfall and doubt of Superman. And finally with his rebirth, we see the true Superman. The Superman who is confident and sure, and full of hope and joy,” Cavill once said on a behind-the-scenes featurette of Justice League (via Yahoo).

Henry Cavill always wanted to play the Superman from the comics

Cavill once shared that his goal was to play a more fully realized Superman. Although he was a fan of Snyder’s films, Cavill believed he spent more time playing an unsure Superman in his earlier years. The actor would’ve enjoyed the opportunity to revisit the character in the next phase of his life.

“Justice League Snyder Cut definitely leant into that a bit more,” Cavill once told Collider. “I had a bit more of a gentleness to the tone of the thing, but I would love to have the opportunity to play the Superman that we all know and love from the comics, as a continuation of his development and we see the hero. That would be really, really exciting for me because there is an opportunity to tell a lot of interesting story there.”