Henry Cavill doesn't think a Zack Snyder cut of 'Justice League' will 'make any difference' (exclusive)

Henry Cavill has cast doubt on a Zack Snyder cut of Justice League ever seeing the light of day. Many DC fans have been hoping for a Snyder cut after being disappointed by the final product that hit cinemas in November, 2017.

The film was meant to rival the Avengers franchise, but even with Avengers: Assemble and Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon taking over from Snyder – who left because of a tragic family matter – it was still heavily criticised and now holds the title of the lowest grossing movie in the DC extended universe.

Ever since, there’s been an unending number of think-pieces about why Warner Bros. should release the original director’s version (if there actually is one), though Superman actor Henry Cavill doesn’t think it “will make any difference.”

“I don’t know if [a Snyder cut] actually exists so the only way I can look at it is as a business model, and I don’t know what difference it’s going to make,” the actor told Yahoo Movies UK during the press tour for Mission: Impossible – Fallout. “There are stories to be told, which need to be told and adjustments that can be made, but that’s not going to make any difference.

“I think it might be entertaining, for sure, and go, ‘Oh look, now I’ve scratched that itch,’ but it’s not going to change anything that I can think of, it’s not going to make huge amounts of money all of a sudden for a studio.

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“They’re not going to release it into cinemas and so they’re not going to suddenly make an extra few hundred million,” Cavill added. “So it would be interesting to see what the difference is, but I’d rather focus on the future rather than what’s been.”

The British actor has been teasing the future of Superman for a while now, whose next outing is expected in Man of Steel 2. So far, there’s been no definitive plot given but Cavill told Yahoo Movies UK that he wouldn’t mind them looking to Brian Azzarello’s For Tomorrow title for inspiration.

“There’s a lot of weight to it,” he explained. “I don’t know if it’s the exact one I’d make a movie out of but I’d definitely take tones from it. You really get an insight into Superman’s mind. He talks to a priest a lot and you see him trying to save the world in literally the most magnificent of ways.

“He’s doing his utmost to save humanity and create a perfect place for everyone to live but then realises that he can’t, but it’s beautiful that he tried. He’s so naive in some aspects of it but he’s using all the power that he possibly can to create a utopia and within all this stuff is a lot of darkness, a lot of sadness in him.”

The 2004-2005 comic book arc deals with a lot of the guilt Superman feels for not saving the million people who vanished from Earth a year earlier, including Lois Lane, as well as his mission to get them back, which raises a lot of questions about human nature.

“He’s trying to stop people from dying, he’s trying to stop wars but you realise that even he is not fast enough to stop all the bullets,” Cavill continued. “Then he snaps and takes everyone’s weapons away.

“So it’s two sides looking at each other in a war and they’re shouting at each other and they start throwing rocks. It’s just that sensation of exasperation; it’s not down to him making it happen, it’s down to him encouraging it to happen. Providing them with a reason not to do it, rather than taking away their tools to hurt because if they still have that thing inside they’re going to find a way to do it anyway.”

The actor says For Tomorrow is now his favourite Superman title; It used to be Superman: Red Son, the alternate universe story that imagined what Kal-El’s life would have been like if his ship crash-landed in the Soviet Union. That series was written by Mark Millar, who told Yahoo Movies UK earlier this year that the problem with DC movies is that they feel dated.

“I love Superman, but he belongs to an America that doesn’t exist anymore,” Millar said. “He represents 20th Century America and I think he peaked then.”

Cavill, of course, doesn’t agree with this assessment and thinks that Superman is beyond representing any nation. “I don’t see him as representing America,” he responded. “The world is so small now, I don’t see him as representing a nation, maybe he did then.

“He’s a representation of hope, of that light which you grasp for in the darkness and because the world is so small and news is so often negative – because who wants to read good stuff apparently – it’s that thing. He’s that idea of a hero who just wants to save you and do everything that he can to save the people and also make people better just by being him.

“He’s got his own vulnerabilities,” Cavill added. “He’s kind of like me on the inside, but exactly what I’d like to be on the outside and that’s what I feel what he represents.”

Cavill cares a lot about the way Superman is presented on screen, that’s why he understands the passion some fans have over their protectiveness of their favourite characters.

“I understand it, especially when it comes to the comic book fans, I feel the same way,” he said. “I’m very protective over Superman and the comic books. I really want to be a champion for that representation of the character. S

“So when people are literal when they’re writing very impassioned or speaking very impassioned opinions, I get it. I have no problem with that, I would love them to know, I really want to give them the character they want as well because I‘m a fan too.”

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is in cinemas 25 July.

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