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Superman: James Gunn Debunks "Confusing" Henry Cavill Conspiracy

Nathan Fillion's confusion became a Henry Cavill/The Man of Steel 2 conspiracy theory that Superman writer/director James Gunn had to debunk.

Okay, buckle up for this one. Last week, we covered what Nathan Fillion had to share about playing Green Lantern Guy Gardner in writer/director James Gunn's Superman – when a misspeak on Fillion's part blew up into a conspiracy theory that Gunn addressed on social media over the weekend. During an interview, Fillion shared how he learned that he would be playing Gardner at the premiere party for The Suicide Squad. "We were actually at the premiere party after 'Suicide Squad' and he [James Gunn] was in a huge crowd of people. We saw each other in the crowd, and I congratulated him, 'Oh, my God, that was amazing. It's so great.' He goes, 'Hey, did Peter [Safran] tell you what we've got for you next?' I said, 'No, he hasn't said.' He looked around like someone was gonna be listening. We were in a throng of people, but he leaned over and said, 'You're gonna be Guy Gardner,'" Fillion shared regarding when he got the heads-up that he would be playing a major role in Gunn and DC Studios Co-CEO Peter Safran's New DCU.

Except Fillion apparently got his events confused, with Gunn clarifying on social media that Fillion had confused the "Suicide Squad" premiere with the premiere party for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3:

You're probably getting a sense of where this is going. It didn't take long for those who remain faithful to anything & everything having to do with Zack Snyder's "Justice League" to start claiming that the fix was in – that Fillion was actually speaking the truth and that Gunn was trying to perform clean-up. In a nutshell, they're claiming that Fillion's comments prove that Gunn was considering revamping the DCU and a new take on Superman when he was first hired by Warner Bros. Discovery to tackle The Suicide Squad – meaning that Gunn had been lying to the fans and never intended to have Henry Cavill return as The Man of Steel.

"I don't quite understand how that fits," Gunn began his response, offering a timeline of how things played out in terms of coming aboard DC Studios. "Aside from the fact I had no interest in running DC until Peter decided to do it with me so he could do the exec stuff & I could focus on creative when I was hired to write 'Superman,' it was always intended as & pitched as a new Superman story, so why would I lie about not planning that at the 'Squad' premiere which would have amounted to the same thing at the end of the day? How does this particular conspiracy theory make sense?"

From there, Gunn makes it clear that no one lied and that Fillion "misspoke" when he confused the events – offering a personal example of how easy it is to confuse things when there's so much going on:

In the end, Gunn was left feeling like we were as the conversation branched into other areas: "This is very confusing":

Superman: A Look Back at The Journey So Far…

"Overjoyed to be announcing the start of principal photography on SUPERMAN today, February 29, which just so happens to be – coincidentally and unplanned – Superman's birthday," Gunn wrote as the caption to his post presenting the famous "S" on his Superman's costume, before confirming the change in the film's title. "When I finished the first draft of the script, I called the film Superman: Legacy. By the time I locked the final draft, it was clear the title was SUPERMAN. Making our way to you July 2025."

Here's a look back at a screencap of Gunn's Threads post sharing a group shot of the cast (and with Nicholas Hoult definitely in Lex Luthor mode) from the table read:

"After the table read with the #Superman cast. Eve, Mr. Terrific, Superman/Clark, Otis, Lex, producer Peter Safran, Jimmy, Metamorpho, Lois, Hawkgirl, me, Guy, The Engineer all together for the first time! What a wonderful day." Gunn wrote as the caption to his Instagram post showing off the team:

The Announcement…

Here's a look back at Gunn's tweet from March 2023 making the announcement that he would be writing and directing Superman: Legacy, followed by the full, heartfelt text of the message he shared while confirming what's been rumbling around social media since the previous week:

"Yes, I'm directing Superman: Legacy to be released on July 11, 2025. My brother Matt told me when he saw the release date he started to cry. I asked him why. He said, 'Dude, it's Dad's birthday.' I hadn't realized," Gunn wrote in the opening to his series of tweets announcing the news. "I lost my Dad almost three years ago. He was my best friend. He didn't understand me as a kid, but he supported my love of comics and my love of film, and I wouldn't be making this movie now without him. It has been a long road to this point. I was offered Superman years ago – I initially said no because I didn't have a way in that felt unique and fun and emotional that gave Superman the dignity he deserved. Then a bit less than a year ago, I saw a way in, in many ways centering around Superman's heritage – how both his aristocratic Kryptonian parents and his Kansas farmer parents inform who he is and the choices he makes."

DC Studios' Superman stars David Corenswet (Hollywood) as Superman/Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane. In addition, the Superman: Legacy cast includes Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Lex Luthor, Wendell Pierce (HBO's The Wire) as Perry White, Isabela Merced (Sicario: Day of the Soldado) as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica/The Engineer, Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord, Pruitt Taylor Vince (Murder One, Lady in the Lake) as Jonathan Kent/"Pa Kent," and Neva Howell (Ghosts of the Ozarks) as Martha Kent/"Ma Kent." Composer John Murphy (28 Days Later, Sunshine, Kick-Ass, The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3) has been tapped to score the film.

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