RUMOR: Henry Cavill is NOT appearing in The Flash... or is he?

As The Flash is being set up as a bridge from the previous DC Extended Universe, to be the new status quo, this would not be surprising. Ben Affleck is already confirmed to be returning as both Bruce Wayne and Batman.

The ongoing speculation is that this would be his farewell to the role. However, there is another rumor that events in The Flash will set up a status quo that allows for multiple versions of characters to co-exist in one world, with Ben Affleck as the active Batman and Michael Keaton as the older mentor type. Henry Cavill isn't in The Flash? As mentioned, another source, The Wrap's Umberto Gonzales, contested that Cavill will appear in The Flash. Retorting through his Twitter account @elmayimbe, Gonzales states that Cavill is not reprising his role as Superman in The Flash:

He goes on to state that there is no ongoing deal to have Cavill return as Superman. In light of the fact that there are Superman projects without Cavill being attached, it would be logical to assume this is the case. So which rumor is correct? Gonzales has made predictions and insider claims before, but not all of them have proven accurate. In the past, there was a claim that the Snyder cut was not in development, yet Zack Snyder's Justice League was released on HBO Max early this 2021. Another recent claim was that Ben Affleck's role in The Flash would only be as Bruce Wayne in a cameo role:

However, with Ben Affleck's Batman revealed to be appearing not just in a redesigned Bat-suit, but also a new Bat-vehicle, this has proven to be inaccurate.

Moreover, the initial contract locked Henry Cavill to appear in three sequels after Man of Steel. Batman v Superman and Justice League were two of those. That would indicate Cavill and Warner Bros. are bound by the terms for one more appearance of the actor as Superman. In a 2017 interview with the LA Times, it was confirmed that Cavill indeed had one more appearance as Superman in his contract:

This is likely the reason he was unable to appear in the cameo at the end of Shazam! Although it was supposedly due to scheduling conflicts, doing the cameo may have technically counted as that one remaining appearance. As a result, the Superman appearance was played by a body double and the Man of Steel's face was not shown. So will he or won't he? As far as Henry Cavill himself, he does not seem to be closing any possibility of donning the cape once more. In fact, all signs point to the fan-favorite actor not just being open to, but enthusiastic about playing Superman again.

In November 2019, Cavill himself had this to say: The cape is in the closet. It's still mine… I've not given up the role. There's a lot I have to give for Superman yet. A lot of storytelling to do. A lot of real, true depths to the honesty of the character I want to get into. I want to reflect the comic books. That's important to me. There's a lot of justice to be done for Superman. The status is: You'll see.

Cavill also reiterated his desire to play the Superman character as late as June 2020:

Another point to consider is that Dwayne Johnson has actively lobbied to have his Black Adam face Superman at some point, either in the first film or in a later sequel. With The Rock's manager Dany Garcia also handling Henry Cavill's career, this would strongly indicate it is his DCEU version that Johnson wants.

Despite multiple other Superman projects being developed, such as a film by J.J. Abrams and written by Ta-Nehisi, and another as an HBO Max exclusive series being developed by Michael B. Jordan, it is not improbable to have yet another Superman. The DC multiverse is vast and being explored more freely.

Plus, if the rumor that Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton will co-exist as separate Batmen is true, in addition to Robert Pattinson's own in The Batman, the sky really is the limit.

With how in flux the status of actors and roles are in Hollywood, nothing is certain until the projects are complete and announcements made official. Given how neither Cavill nor Warner Bros. have stated anything concrete, the door remains open. Thus, it is best to take the news about whether Henry Cavill will or will not appear in The Flash with a grain of salt.

Produced by DC Entertainment/Warner Bros. Pictures, The Flash stars Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, Sasha Calle, and Kiersey Clemons. Directed by Andy Muschetti, The Flash races to theaters November 4, 2022.