Dwayne Johnson says he ‘fought for years’ to revive Henry Cavill’s Superman out of loyalty to fans

Dwayne Johnson has said he “fought for years” to bring back Henry Cavill’s Superman to the DC Universe, in the name of fans.

Cavill made his debut as the beloved superhero in 2013’s Man of Steel. He later reprised his role opposite Ben Affleck’s caped crusader in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017).

After DC’s newest Johnson-led film Black Adam teased Cavill’s return in its closing credits, Cavill confirmed the big news shortly after the film’s opening weekend.

“I wanted to make it official: I am back as Superman… Thank you for your support and thank you for your patience. I promise it will be rewarded,” he said in a video posted to Instagram.

In a Tweet shared on 25 October, alongside Cavill’s announcement video, Johnson wrote: “We fought for years to bring you back. They always said no. But for [producers] Danny Garcia and Hiram Garcia, and myself, ‘no’ was not an option.

“We can’t build out our DCEU without the world’s greatest superhero. And fans will always come first. Welcome home. I’ll see you down the road.”

In an earlier interview, Cavill admitted that he has held on to his Superman costume “just in case” he is asked to play the character again.

“Yes I do, ready and waiting for the phone calls,” said the 39-year-old actor.

Back in 2017, Cavill had said he was under contract to play Superman one last time. Nothing, however, came to fruition – until now.

Black Adam is out in cinemas now.