Written By Kieran Bugg • U.K. Editor
Man Of Steel 2‘s cancellation was James Gunn’s first decision after he was appointed as co-CEO of DC Studios. It’s been 10 years now since we last had a solo live-action Superman movie. Man Of Steel, starring Henry Cavill, was first released back in June 2013 and met with mixed reviews.
Director Zack Snyder’s darker take on the otherwise optimistic superhero initially drew criticism from older DC fans who grew up on Christopher Reeve’s more hopeful interpretation. In addition, the Earth shattering final fight with Michael Shannon’s General Zod divided some viewers at the time.
On top of levelling most of Metropolis, Superman is forced to break Zod’s neck in order to save civilians.
Man of Steel 2 Cancellation Was DC Studios’ Shocking First Decision
Image: Warner Bros. Discovery
Nonetheless, Man Of Steel has gained a cult following in recent years and is now looked back on more fondly. Man of Steel was intended to launch DC’s own cinematic universe to compete with Marvel Studios. It did when multiple movies starring other Justice League members were announced.
As you already know, this whole plan came crashing down due to studio interference and endless behind-the-scenes drama.
But things began looking up again around the time that Dwayne Johnson’s long-awaited Black Adam solo film released. The movie’s post-credit scene featured the return of Cavill as Superman teasing an epic confrontation with Black Adam.
Furthermore, Cavill then took to social media to announce his full-time return to the DC Universe. A long overdue sequel to Man Of Steel was also announced to be in development.
Alas, excitement for these announcements were soon cut short due to a change in management. Following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, CEO David Zaslav began restructuring the DC Films brand into DC Studios.
He then appointed Gunn and Peter Safran as the new leaders for the franchise going forward. As a result, multiple upcoming films and TV shows including Man Of Steel 2 were cancelled.
Others included Patty Jenkins’ third Wonder Woman film and a possible sequel to Black Adam. Now it turns out that trashing Man of Steel 2 was Gunn’s first decision when accepting his new position.
This was so he could begin working on his upcoming reboot Superman: Legacy. Gunn regularly attempts to communicate to DC followers via his Twitter account. Unfortunately for him, not amount of pressing the flesh saved The Flash from a massive fail at the box office. Although The Flash originated from the previous DC Films regime, he heavily endorsed the movie like it was his own child.
Man of Steel 2 Cancellation Was DC Studios’ Shocking First Decision
Image: Warner Bros. Discovery
No, that’d be Superman: Legacy. It’s obvious that Gunn was looking after his own interests than that of the fans. Thus, this Legacy doesn’t belong to Superman but Gunn himself. In his desire to satisfy his own ego, he cut down Cavill’s own legacy as the Man of Steel. As fast as the Flash.
