Henry Cavill Gave David Corenswet One Piece Of Advice For Superman

A new age of DC has arrived with James Gunn's "Superman," a charming crowd-pleaser that's silly in all the right ways. It's a refreshing change of pace to see David Corenswet's Man of Steel having a bit of fun after the oppressive slog that was Zack Snyder's series of films featuring Henry Cavill as Superman. Now, Warner Bros. and Gunn will be looking to build on the more light-hearted tone established with "Superman" as they build out their burgeoning DC Universe (renamed from the DC Extended Universe, as to differentiate it from that Snyder-led timeline).

There are multiple elements that make Gunn's film much more fun than its predecessors, from Krypto the dog, who might just be the real star of "Superman," to the "Guardians of the Galaxy"-esque humor, which doesn't always work as well in "Superman" as it did in Gunn's beloved Marvel trilogy, but it certainly helps lighten things up. We also got an array of fantastical villains against which Corenswet's hero faced off and generally got more wacky design choices, from Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner and his unusual (yet comic-accurate) hairstyle to Edi Gathegi's Mister Terrific and his T-sphere spaceship. All of which was clearly designed to convey just how far from the Snyderverse Gunn's DC will be.

Of course the biggest and most important change is Corenswet himself, who found his breakthrough role in Clark Kent/Superman. The actor's version of the superhero was much more of a goofy dork than any of his predecessors, remaining heroic while projecting a sense of endearing insecurity. That's a significant achievement considering the actor must have been under immense pressure to deliver with his version of Supes, and while Gunn's direction was surely a huge factor in Corenswet's choices, it seems he also got some highly relevant advice from Henry Cavill himself.

While it pays obvious homage to Richard Donner's 1978 "Superman," James Gunn's "Superman" differs from past versions in many ways. A twist that turns Kal-El's parents into nefarious colonizers, for example, is a big departure from previous versions. But there's no doubt the biggest difference here is Gunn's own sensibility, which pervades "Superman" to the extent that we got a much funnier, more charming entry in the Superman canon than we've yet seen. For David Corenswet, having more fun with the character was clearly important, and it seems Henry Cavill was in sync with Gunn on that point, advising his replacement to embrace the fun of it all.

Speaking to Heart at the "Superman" premiere in London, Corenswet revealed that he'd exchanged letters with two former Superman actors in the form of Tyler Hoechlin, who played the hero on The CW series "Superman & Lois," and Cavill. "They were very encouraging, and we had a lovely exchange, and I'm excited to meet them one day," Corenswet said. "It'll be great when we can all get in a room together." 

But the actor also went on to say that both ex-Supermen conveyed "an encouragement and a sense of, you know, have fun with it." Considering Gunn's aim with "Superman," that advice couldn't have been more pertinent, and while Hoechlin likely had no idea what the DC Studios co-head had planned for the film, Cavill might have had more of an insight.

Henry Cavill's departure from the erstwhile DCEU was nothing short of a debacle. After his Superman seemingly disappeared from the universe following 2017's "Justice League," he then showed up in Dwayne Johnson's doomed 2022 passion project "Black Adam." But this cameo proved to be disastrous, as the actor then took to social media to announce his return to DC, — all of which left James Gunn very confused, as he'd already been drafted in by Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav to reboot DC's cinematic enterprise entirely. Gunn then met with Cavill face to face and broke the news that he would, in fact, not be returning as Superman.

Did Gunn reveal any of his plans for the DC Universe during that meeting? Perhaps. If so, Cavill's advice to David Corenswet to have fun with the role might well have been informed by the actor's knowledge of what Gunn had in-store. Of course, it's much more likely Cavill was just doing what you'd expect from any professional, advising his successor to enjoy his time in the spotlight. But it is interesting to think about what Gunn might have revealed at that initial meeting with the former Man of Steel. There might also have been a more subconscious recognition in Cavill that both his films and his experience with DC in general weren't actually all that fun at times, and he might therefore have unwittingly been wishing for a better experience for Corenswet.

Either way, Corenswet looks set to continue having fun as the Man of Steel after "Superman" soared at the box office. Meanwhile, Cavill remains a great Superman who, unfortunately, never got a great Superman movie.