Should We Thank Snyder Cut for Cavill's Superman Return?
Henry Cavill is now back as Superman – he just made a cameo appearance at the end of Black Adam. One of the reasons for that was Dwayne Johnson's relentless advocacy on his behalf. But even that could have failed if not for another factor. Namely, the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League cut in 2021.
As is well-known, the divisive response to Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice resulted in DC Film's studio bosses firing Zack Snyder, and inviting Joss Whedon to do a last-minute rework of Justice League. The results were pretty bad, both for the movie itself and for DCU as a whole: it took cinematic universe almost 5 years to recover from Whedongate.
In particular, Whedon's Justice League nearly doomed Henry Cavill 's prospects of playing Superman ever again. While Snyder's version of the Man of Steel was controversial because many of the fans did not like the specific moral conflicts which Snyder contrived for him, Whedon's generically cheerful Superman got an even worse reception (that he was overpowered to the point of making everyone else in the League appear useless did not help).
Then Cavill and Warner Bros. failed to work out a new deal on his post-Justice League future, and Cavill left the role for years.
Persistent online calls of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut followed. And despite the continued bad blood between DC Film and Snyder, Warner Bros. finally greenlit Snyder's version of Justice League. Released in March 2021, the dramatically different Snyder Cut was much better-received than Whedon's version.
And it largely restored the reputation of Cavill's Superman, who finally appeared as the symbol of hope he was always intended to be, without being too much of a boyscout, or losing all connection with Superman's portrayal in Snyder's previous movies.
And while yes, he still was the central figure and the biggest powerhouse of the titular Justice League, he wasn't flawless, and it was much more obvious why he still needs to be a part of the team.
DC Film still resisted any further appearances of Cavill as Superman. Dwayne Johnson has to fight for years for the above-mentioned Black Adam cameo.
Now, when DC Film has been rebranded as DC Studios, under new leadership, there finally are no studio politics blocking return of Henry Cavill. But the way for that return was opened in the first place by Snyder Cut.