Superman Actor Admits DC Movies Haven't Worked, Praises 'Wonder Woman'

With the exception of Wonder Woman, the DC film universe has been almost universally criticized for its overly grim depiction of DC’s flagship superheroes. But fans worldwide aren’t the only ones who think films like Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad made some mistakes. Superman actor Henry Cavill also acknowledges the missteps of the DCEU, and praises Wonder Woman as “the first step in the right direction.”

For its October print issue, The Rake interviewed Cavill, who talked about the DCEU’s past and future. Cavill said, “There was a style they [DC] were going for, an attempt to be different and look at things from a slightly different perspective, which hasn’t necessarily worked…it hasn’t given everyone that sensation which superheroes should give the viewer.”

A sense of optimism and hope obviously wasn’t absent from Wonder Woman, though, and Cavill was quick to comment on the film’s merits.

“I think it is a wonderful time for the female hero,” Cavill said. “It is the perfect setting in social politics right now, we need it, we want that perspective, and Wonder Woman has struck at the ideal time and has become a phenomenal success, which is fantastic.”

Naturally, Cavill thinks of Wonder Woman as an important turning point for the DCEU: “I feel like now the right mistakes have been made and they haven’t been pandered [to], and we can start telling the stories in the way they need to be told,” Cavill added. “It is even better to come back from a mistake or stylistic error into the correct vein because it will make it seem that much stronger. Wonder Woman was the first step in the right direction.”

Whether or not you agree with Cavill’s comments, his candor here is refreshing. Mostly out of a need for future job security, actors involved with heavily criticized projects don’t often give their genuine thoughts on certain issues, not that he waxed in full about the DCEU’s past problems here. In any case, hopefully Justice League represents the second step in the right direction for DC’s cinematic universe.

Justice League will be released in the US on November 17.