James Gunn shoots down Henry Cavill DC casting rumor – because he already has a "first choice"

Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel — (Image credit: Warner Bros./DC)

DC Studios boss James Gunn has responded to a rumor that Henry Cavill has been offered a role in the DCU, shooting down talk that the former Superman actor will play Frankenstein.

"Is this true or bull?" asked a Twitter user, linking to a story from koimoi.com titled 'Henry Cavill Is Approached To Play Frankenstein In The DCU In A Barter To Forget Superman?'

"Completely false. We have our Frankenstein - our first choice - & it’s not Henry. Was never discussed with him," Gunn replied. In another Tweet, he added: "I’ve said in the past we’ve discussed other roles with Henry - just Frankenstein is not one of them."

Frankenstein (or, if we're being pedantic, Frankenstein's monster) features in DC Comics as part of Creature Commandos, a team of military superhumans that also consists of a vampire, a werewolf, and a gorgon, along with a human leader. The team will make their on-screen debut in an upcoming animated series for HBO Max, which was announced as part of the new DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters line-up.

Other new TV shows in the works from Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran include Wonder Woman prequel Paradise Lost, Peacemaker spin-off Waller, and Green Lantern series Lanterns.

Cavill played Superman in 2013's Man of Steel and its 2016 and 2017 follow-ups Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. After a cameo in the Black Adam post-credits scene, however, it looked like Cavill was back in the DC fold – until he wasn't. Cavill confirmed that the studio would be moving forward with someone else in the role of Clark Kent.

Next up for DC is Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which arrives on the big screen on March 17. In the meantime, check out our guide to the rest of the upcoming DC movies on the horizon.

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I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.