For reasons that have never been explained, Warner Bros. haven’t shown much of a vested interest in giving Man of Steel a sequel, even though it launched the entire DCEU. Henry Cavill has been under contract to play Superman for over ten years, and in that time he’s made a grand total of three appearances in the franchise, four if you include both versions of Justice League as separate movies.
Even if you do view it as four, half of those outings came in the franchise’s opening two installments, so his longevity hasn’t really been earned in onscreen terms. The actor has had at least on film remaining on his deal with the studio since Joss Whedon’s Justice League wrapped its extensive reshoots, and while we’ve been getting inundated with rumors that a comeback is imminent, nothing has been confirmed by either Cavill or WB.
At one stage it looked like we might actually be getting Man of Steel 2, when it was named as a top priority project and placed into active development, with Matthew Vaughn and Christopher McQuarrie both circling the project. That didn’t come to pass, and the comic book icon is now getting a reboot, but when asked, writer David S. Goyer revealed his thoughta that the Kryptonian superhero could get his second standalone outing eventually.
“I think so. I’m not involved in it right now. I’ve heard the same rumors you’ve heard, but I’m not plugged into it. I’ve stepped away almost entirely from comic book-related projects other than Sandman, which I don’t really categorize as part of the normal DC universe.”
Goyer admits that he’s hardly in the loop these days having been instrumental in the DCEU’s formative years, and Man of Steel 2 has now reached the status of being one of those ‘we’ll believe it when we see it’ deals, given that eight years have now passed and we’re still no closer to seeing Cavill back under the costume in his own solo adventure.