Henry Cavill may not be a perfect fit for James Gunn’s Superman, but he was for Zack Snyder! And well, the Man of Steel director has had his reasons. Having played the character for over 9 years, the British actor had almost become synonymous with the DCEU character, until he was not anymore. Starting his journey from 2013’s Man of Steel, he last portrayed the character in 2022’s Black Adam.

But then James Gunn, along with Peter Safran hopped in and shattered all the hopes of his cult classic fandom. And although he provided his side of explanations, back when Cavill hopped on this journey, Snyder also explained what made the Superman alum special exclusively to E! Online, right on the premiere night of Man of Steel in New York back in 2013. The director stated that apart from being fit and quite handsome, Cavill “also has this other thing” which perhaps distinguished him from all others.

What other thing, you ask? Well, he certainly is a great actor for one, but more than that the British actor’s “this kind of earnest awesomeness that’s unexplainable” is something that had Snyder’s trust invested in him. He further explained that apart from these indistinguishable qualities, Christopher Reeve’s suit also played a role.

When the auditions took place, the new Superman suit was not ready and so they put him in the old Christopher Reeve suit to do the screen test. And the result, Snyder said to E! Online was awe-inspiring. “And we knew at that moment that he was our Superman.” Notably, just two days later fans got to witness everything that Cavill and Snyder put in to bring out their incarnation of the Superhero. The rest is history.

So what exactly is James Gunn expecting from his Superman?

Against the indistinguishable qualities of Henry Cavill, James Gunn seems to have specified traits for his version of Superman

It is no news that Gunn and Safran are rebooting the DC Universe. Furthermore, we also know that the very first flick to mark the onset of a new era is none other than Superman: Legacy. And they have apparently started the casting process as well. Talking in regard to that, the director recently informed Variety that they have some great choices while specifying the necessary traits of the new Superman.

According to him, the new actor shall not only have all the humanity, kindness, and compassion of a brighter incarnation of the superhero but he must also be someone “that you’d want to give you a hug.”

Do you agree with Snyder on Cavill’s Supmeran-fit traits? Let us know in the comments below.