Henry Cavill made a subtle dig at his Superman drama with WB and DC Studios: 'I don't have much luck with post-credit scenes'

• Henry Cavill referenced the drama over his scrapped Superman return on Monday.
• He joked about it while introducing his new movie "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare."

Henry Cavill has moved past his scrapped Superman return and onto new projects, but he can still crack jokes about what could have been.

In his introductory remarks before a screening of his new Guy Ritchie movie "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" attended by Business Insider, Cavill made a subtle dig at his Man of Steel drama with DC Studios and WB.

While praising his collaboration with Ritchie, Cavill noted that he'd worked with the director before, when he had a lead role in the 2015 spy film "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." opposite Armie Hammer and Alicia Vikander. Cavill also said he was "in a post-credit scene" for another Ritchie film, "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword," which starred Charlie Hunnam as the title character. (It's unclear if Cavill, who'd also reportedly gone out for the role of King Arthur, was actually serious about that — he's not credited on IMDb as having a role in that film.)

"Turns out, I don't have much luck with post-credit scenes," he joked, to audience laughter. "So, I may give up on those."

Cavill, who went on to praise his "extraordinary" experience working with Ritchie on "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare," was clearly referencing his much-hyped appearance in the 2022 DC Studios film "Black Adam," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

In an end-credits scene in that movie, Cavill's Superman makes his big return. The actor even promoted his cameo with an Instagram post where he proclaimed that he's back as Superman and thanked fans for holding out hope for his return to the character.

"A very small taste of what's to come, my friends. The dawn of hope renewed. Thank you for your patience, it will be rewarded," he captioned the October 2022 post.

Cavill first played the legendary superhero in Zack Snyder's 2013 movie "Man of Steel," and reprised the role in 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and 2017's "Justice League."

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But only two months after Cavill's post about his return, newly minted DC Studios boss James Gunn, who was named co-chairman and co-CEO alongside producer Peter Safran in 2022, revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that he was in the process of writing a new Superman movie that would focus on "an earlier part of Superman's life" and would therefore not star Cavill.

"But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we're big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future," Gunn wrote in a follow-up post on X in December 2022.

Cavill addressed the news on Instagram, confirming he'd met with Gunn and Safran.

"It's sad news, everyone. I will, after all, not be returning as Superman," Cavill wrote. "After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn't the easiest, but that's life. I respect that James and Peter have a universe to build. I wish them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes."

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In a January 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter about DC's revamped slate, Gunn again addressed Cavill's exit. He said Cavill hadn't been fired, because he was never cast to begin with.

"For me, it's about, Who do I want to cast as Superman, and who do the filmmakers we have want to cast? And for me, for this story, it isn't Henry," Gunn told THR.

"I like Henry, I think he's a great guy," he added. "I think he's getting dicked around by a lot of people, including the former regime at this company. But this Superman is not Henry, for a number of reasons."

Despite the DC drama, Cavill has plenty on his slate. Aside from starring as Gus March-Phillipps, the leader of a rag-tag crew of highly-skilled renegades on a secret mission to fight the Nazis, in "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare," he's playing Highlander in the reboot of the fantasy franchise coming from Lionsgate. He also reunited with Ritchie already for the director's upcoming 2025 film "In the Grey," which will also re-team him with his "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" costar Eiza González.