Henry Cavill Agrees That His Superman Movies Made Mistakes (Even If They Made Money)

Throughout the 2010s, Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Entertainment were going hard on the release of the new DC Extended Universe, or DCEU, a modern collection of films, television, and other assorted media starring the many heroes and villains popularized in DC comics. In particular, these films from the so-called Snyderverse included the final appearances of Henry Cavill as Superman, with "Man of Steel" and "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." The movies did well financially, grossing some $1.5 billion collectively, but Cavill has said in retrospect that they weren't exactly perfect.

It's no secret that the release of the DCEU films were meant to both capitalize on and compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which was in its second phase at the time with films like "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Guardians of the Galaxy." In a 2017 interview with entertainment magazine The Rake, Cavill explained that while his Superman films made plenty of money at the box office, in an effort to differentiate from the MCU, they were missing a certain something that makes superhero films really resonate with audiences.

As Cavill explained in his interview with The Rake, the production of the DCEU films, and especially his roles as Superman, were made with the express purpose of delivering something unique and distinct from what audiences were expecting of superhero films at the time. However, he lamented that the films didn't quite hit the same way as other superhero pictures, noting they didn't give viewers "that sensation which superheroes should give the viewer."

There is some truth to this; Rotten Tomatoes reviews of "Man of Steel," for example, were rather middling from both critics and filmgoers, who appreciated the film's action set pieces, but found the slower moments boring and inauthentic. Of course, there isn't a single right way to make a superhero film, which is why some superhero films that should've been hits end up bombing.

That said, Cavill stated his belief that the "right mistakes" had been made in these films. They provided a vital test case of what worked and what didn't in a DC superhero flick, ensuring that subsequent movies would hit a better balance between action and drama thanks to learnings from previous shortcomings. He added that the 2017 "Wonder Woman" film was an important step in the right direction, and considering how well it performed financially and critically, he may have been right. Though, considering the less-than-stellar reception of "Justice League", the lowest-grossing movie in the DCEU at the time, maybe not.