Henry Cavill’s Hollywood success story has a slow build-up that begins with a modest career and spawns into leading a billion-dollar franchise with multiple successful projects progressing parallelly. But the impetus to his career’s explosive take-off had to start somewhere and that platform was provided by the 007 franchise. It is no secret now that Henry Cavill was once in the running to be James Bond, but the actor’s close call with the role is only now being revealed straight from the horse’s mouth.
Henry Cavill Recalls Losing Out on Bond to Daniel Craig
As long as the history of Bond lives on in the cinema, Daniel Craig’s representation of the timeless international spy will be one of the most acclaimed and beloved enactments to have ever been produced on the big screen. And this is not merely the opinion of the masses but the actor who lost the role to Daniel Craig himself — Henry Cavill. In his appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with MTV’s Josh Horowitz, Cavill revealed:
“They told me I was close. They told me it was ultimately down to, and this is what I’ve been told, it was just down to me and Daniel [Craig], and I was the younger option. They obviously went with Daniel and I think it was an amazing choice to go with Daniel. I probably wasn’t ready at the time and I think Daniel did an incredible job over the past movies, so I’m happy they made that choice. It was a fun adventure at the time and definitely gave me a boost to my career. That was the key element of it.”
Although rumors have been abounding recently about the actor still being a popular choice for the coveted role, Cavill seems an unlikely choice given his disclosed involvement with the formative DCEU world-building in the years to come. The producers of the Bond franchise, too, have been specific about their eligibility criterion for the new Bond, and Cavill, now 39, simply cannot carry the franchise for the next decade and a half.
Henry Cavill’s Ascent From a Lost Bond to DCEU’s Superman
The favoritism of the world when it comes to Henry Cavill is blatantly transparent at this point. There is no more gatekeeping of the actor for his early fandom from The Tudors era. His influence now reaches millions of people across the Atlantic and the fate of a billion-dollar franchise rests on his shoulders. And it all began with a rejection from Barbara Broccoli.
Also read: Bridgerton Star Regé-Jean Page Beats Henry Cavill to Become Top Pick for James Bond
After Cavill’s immensely celebrated return as DCEU’s long-awaited Man of Steel, the actor now has 5 years’ worth of narrative stored in safekeeping that now has to be accomplished in quick succession. His last appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) was the last major send-off for both the director and (seemingly) the actor but now, with his return now confirmed, DCEU looks to a new future full of hope — after all, that’s what the “S” is supposed to stand for.
Man of Steel 2 is currently confirmed to be in development while the casting for Bond 26 is still going strong with Bridgerton‘s Regé-Jean Page taking the lead.
Source: Happy Sad Confused: Henry Cavill Vol. II
