Over the years, multiple actors have played the role of Superman like Christopher Reeve, George Reeves, and Kirk Alyn. The modern audience has seen actor Henry Cavill playing the iconic role for the past few years, however, his time has officially ended as co-CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn is working on his next Superman movie that is all set to hit the theatres in 2025.
Now, Cavill has been struggling to get rid of that image as people only associate him with that role. In the past, another Superman actor faced something similar, actor George Reeves. He played the role in three Superman movies and also had a cameo appearance in 2023’s The Flash (using archive footage).
George Reeves played Superman between 1951-1958
While actor George Reeves wasn’t the first actor to play Superman, he played a key role in popularising the character among a wider audience with his appearance in the iconic TV series, Adventures of Superman.
Reeves’ performance was praised by fans all over the world, but the show was canceled after 104 episodes as Reeves was found dead in his bedroom during the early hours of June 16, 1959. The untimely passing raised a lot of concerns, in fact, Reeves’ mother fought with the authorities to re-investigate as she suspected that her son was murdered.
Reeves died of a gunshot wound to the head in the upstairs bedroom of his home and the police officially ruled it as a suicide.
The actor hated the Superman role because of this reason
Without a doubt, it is a big opportunity when an actor is approached to play the role of Superman, however, Reeves hated this one thing about the role. In 1956, Reeves told the Akron Beacon Journal,
“The only rub in playing Superman is that I have a tough time finding other roles. Most movie producers feel I’m too closely identified with Superman, so they won’t use me.”
Even Henry Cavill has experienced this as the modern audience associates him with the role of Superman. Cavill played the role in Zack Snyder’s universe but with that whole idea scrapped, Cavill was also fired.
With Henry Cavill out, David Corenswet in
George Reeves’ iconic Superman run only lasted in three Superman projects, Superman and the Mole Men, Adventures of Superman, and Stamp Day for Superman. Nearly 65 years later, a CGI version of Reeves as Superman appears in the DC Extended Universe film The Flash (2023) using archive footage.
Now, James Gunn has been working hard to set up a new universe with his soft reboot. David Corenswet is all set to play the role of Superman in Gunn’s 2025 movie, Superman: Legacy. Will Gunn’s new Superman meet the expectations set by Henry Cavill? Only time will tell.
Source: CloserWeekly
