Henry Cavill confirms that he’s back as Superman after ‘Black Adam’ cameo

You will believe a man can fly… again. Days after fans of the DC Extended Universe witnessed Henry Cavill suiting up as Superman for the first time in five years in a Black Adam bonus scene, the actor has taken to Instagram to confirm that he’s back in the good ol’ red and blue.

“I wanted to wait until the weekend was over before posting this, because I wanted to give you all a chance to watch Black Adam,” the British actor said in the video accompanying his post, which arrived on the heels of the movie’s $67 million opening weekend. “But now that plenty of you have, I want to make it official: I am back as Superman.”

“The image you see on this post is and what you saw in Black Adam are just a very small taste of what’s to come,” Cavill continued. “There’a lot to be thankful for and I’ll get to that in time. But I wanted to thank you guys most of all. Thank you for your support and thank you for your patience. I promise it will be rewarded.”

Cavill was certainly patient when it came to plotting his return to the DCEU. The actor filmed his last scenes as Superman — a role inherited from Christopher Reeve, among others, starting with 2013’s Man of Steel and continuing in 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice — during the reshoots for Joss Whedon’s theatrical version of 2017’s Justice League. Since then, the Man of Steel has been spotted only fleetingly in the DCEU, and never with Cavill in the costume.

It took Black Adam himself to bring Superman back into the fold. Dwayne Johnson personally appealed to Warner Bros. heads, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, to make a deal with Cavill — who is represented by Johnson’s manager and ex-wife, Dany Garcia — and that flurry of activity resulted in the mid-credits scene being filmed in secrecy in September.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter‘s Behind the Screen podcast, the movie’s cinematographer, Lawrence Sher, revealed that neither hero was on set at the same time for their brief encounter. Instead, Johnson filmed his half of the scene during Black Adam‘s additional photography in Atlanta, while Cavill’s portion was shot in London. “There are certain people that are iconic as the characters that they play, and he’s really one of them,” Sher recalled of seeing the initial footage of Cavill’s return.

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Although news of Superman’s appearance leaked in advance of Black Adam‘s opening day, Cavill remained studiously out of sight. Now, though, you can expect to see a lot more of Superman. According to THR, Warner Bros. is in the early stages of prepping Man of Steel 2, and there’s still time for Cavill to shoot cameos in upcoming DCEU fare that’s set for release in 2023, including Shazam: Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. (There’s also Ezra Miller’s standalone Flash movie, although that film is facing its own troubles.)

But the main event will be the Superman v. Black Adam movie that Johnson is eager to get off the ground. “Dude, that was always the plan,” the action star told USA Today. “Establish Black Adam as the most powerful and unstoppable force on this planet. And if we do that right, let’s take the most beloved superhero in the world, of all time, that’s been idle and sitting on the sideline for five years. Let’s fight, and let’s not take no for an answer and let’s bring him back.”

On Twitter, Cavill champions promptly unleashed five years worth of pent-up enthusiasm for their hero’s return.

Black Adam is playing in theaters now.