Following the shake-up in leadership at DC Studios, many actors' and characters' futures have been questioned. One actor’s future was decided pretty early when James Gunn announced that Henry Cavill would not continue to appear as Superman in any DC Studios projects; despite that, it seems like Cavill's Superman may still be involved in The Flash.
The Flash will focus on Ezra Miller's Barry Allen as he uses his powers to travel back in time to prevent his mother’s death. In doing this, he accidentally traps himself in a world devoid of metahumans under attack from General Zod - seemingly the same General Zod Cavill's Superman defeated in Man of Steel. To defeat Zod, Barry puts together a team including Sasha Calle's Supergirl, Michael Keaton's Batman, and a younger version of himself, also played by Miller. Although many Superman-adjacent characters are part of the plot, fans had been under the impression that Superman would not be involved in the plot after it was announced that Cavill's cameos were cut from the movie
While Cavill's Superman will not appear in The Flash, his Man of Steel may still factor into the plot. In a clip released by Rotten Tomatoes on YouTube, both Barrys explore the Batcave. As the younger one reveals the Batmobile, Keaton's Batman descends into the Batcave and says, “I’ll help you get this Superman. Then, you’re on your own.” This is followed by a sequence familiar to fans following The Flash's promotional material closely: Keaton says, “Yeah, I’m Batman,” and the younger version of Barry faints at seeing the hero in real life.
Since James Gunn took over DC Studios, The Flash has had to undergo a few changes. Since most of those changes came about after the movie was already filmed, it’s not surprising that Cavill's involvement might not have been scrubbed from the movie. Cavill wasn’t the only actor to be removed from the final cut; Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman was supposed to appear, but her scenes were cut, just like with Cavill's Superman
While the clip confirms that Superman will be involved, the question remains: to what extent? To cover for Cavill's absence, Superman could merely be alluded to, or Barry, Supergirl, and Batman could fail to find him. Another option would be for The Flash to take a page from Shazam's book and have a body double for Superman, whose face we never see. It’s also possible that fans will see Barry, Batman, and Supergirl interact with Superman, but played by a different actor. Director Andrés Muschietti recently revealed that Nicolas Cage appears as Superman in The Flash. While the extent of his cameo is unknown, it opens up the possibility that Superman could interact more with Barry, Batman, and Supergirl than fans previously thought.
The Flash hits theaters on June 16, 2023