Henry Cavill has parted ways with two huge franchises, but the Superman actor still has a number of prospective upcoming projects that could become huge franchises of their own. Cavill is best known for playing Superman in the DCU, starting with his own Man of Steel. Following that, the actor starred in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Even though Cavill had a cameo as Superman in Black Adam, once James Gunn took over DC and started DC Studios, it was clear that Cavill wasn’t returning as Superman, and David Corenswet is replacing Cavill for 2025’s Superman: Legacy.

Unfortunately, what unfolded with Netflix’s The Witcher series was a similar story.Cavill parted ways with The Witcher partly due to creative differences, and the departure was even harder for fans to stomach. Cavill was a self-proclaimed fan of the source material, he seemingly knew the material better than anyone in the writers’ room, and the series dropped in quality (The Witcher season 3 has a 19% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes). Given The Witcher’s negative reception, it seems as if Netflix will suffer more than Cavill, as the actor still has a number of projects in the works that could become huge franchises.

1 Upcoming Henry Cavill Movie Can Replace Both The Witcher & Superman

1 Upcoming Henry Cavill Movie Can Replace Both The Witcher & Superman

3 Highlander

The original 1986 Highlander is a sci-fi fantasy about a Celtic warrior, who was part of an ancient immortal race that has battled each other for centuries. That battle only ends when one of them is left alive, and the movie is most famous for the quote: “There can only be one.” The original film subtly began a long-running franchise. While they were direct-to-video releases, Highlander had three sequels and an animated movie. If the reboot was made with a big budget and Cavill as the lead Celtic warrior in Highlander, it could become a blockbuster hit and have huge franchise potential.

Cavill’s Highlander reboot’s development timeline dates back 10 years, however, there’s been more movement with the reboot recently. Chad Stahelski, who directed all four John Wick movies, is attached to direct the movie. Given that the filmmaker became better at world-building with each consecutive John Wick release, there’s no better director to helm Cavill’s Highlander reboot. Not only that but Stahelski can apply his unique fight choreography to the epic fantasy film too. Cavill has been attached to the project since 2021, but there’s still no release date. However, given that John Wick: Chapter 4 is in the rear-view mirror, there’s some space in Stahelski’s schedule.

Highlander is a reboot of the 1986 movie that starred Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery. The reboot is directed by Chad Stahelski and stars Henry Cavill as Connor MacLeod. 

2 Warhammer 40,000

2010

Warhammer 40,000 is a miniature wargame developed by Games Workshop, where players enact battles with miniature models of warriors and vehicles on a tabletop battlefield. The Warhammer 40,000 world is set in the distant future where human civilization has become stagnant and tormented by aliens and supernatural creatures. There is so much lore to the series, as the game’s fictional setting has been expanded upon through countless official novels. Given how expansive the tabletop game is, it has the potential to become one of the biggest movie franchises. The universe could even connect to a Warhammer Fantasy series, which is an earlier game also developed by Games Workshop.

A Cavill-starring Warhammer 40,000 TV show is in development with Amazon Studios. Along with starring in the first movie in the upcoming franchise, Cavil will also serve as an executive producer and work on building a Warhammer 40,000 universe, as Vertigo and Cavill acquired the rights before taking it to Amazon (via THR). Cavill totally invests his time into the source material of whatever project he’s working on, so it was an ingenious decision by Vertigo Entertainment to make Cavill a producer. Following the creative conflicts Cavill had with Netflix over The Witcher, having creative input in the series is undoubtedly a relief for the actor.

Based on the extended universe of the popular board/miniature game series, Warhammer 40K is a sci-fi action/war series in development for Prime Video. Helmed by and starring Henry Cavill in collaboration with Games Workshop, Warhammer looks to bring the gritty futuristic war series to the small screen sometime in 2025.

1 The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare

2024

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is the upcoming movie from Guy Ritchie, who is known for his comedy action films (such as Snatch and The Gentlemen). Henry Cavill plays the lead character in the upcoming film, which is another spy movie about a secret British organization during World War II, the Special Operations Executive. The organization was also dubbed as “Churchill’s Secret Warriors.” The movie stars Henry Golding and Alan Ritchson too, and while there haven’t been any discussions about turning The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare into a series, the movie has the potential to become serious franchise material.

Ritchie has turned several of his projects into franchises, as the blockbuster Sherlock Holmes movies have grossed over $1 billion combined (via The Numbers), and The Gentlemen is getting a TV series. Though the movie didn’t earn enough money to warrant a sequel, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which also stars Cavill, has a dedicated fanbase that wants The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 2. Given that they’re both spy movies, turning The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare into a franchise could make up for that. The World War II movie lends itself to multiple sequels, as each film could focus on a different Special Operations Executive mission led by Henry Cavill.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a World War II film following a top-secret combat unit who were formed by Winston Churchill to hunt down Nazis. The film is directed by Guy Ritchie and based on the book The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill’s Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops by Damien Lewis.

And What About The MCU?

Long-running rumors suggest that now that Henry Cavill has left DC behind (barring some unforeseen miracle), he could be headed to the MCU. Nothing has been substantiated yet, but Cavill’s name was suggested by fans when the issue of recasting Wolverine for the MCU came up, and he’s long been linked to Captain Britain. There are, of course, other possibilities, and Cavill would be an impressive acquisition for Marvel Studios regardless of who he plays.

Related After portraying Superman in the DCEU, Henry Cavill has been rumored to be joining the MCU, and there are several powerful characters he could become.

With Marvel projects as big as the X-Men Reboot on the way and several huge characters from the comics still to be cast, Cavill could have his pick of some very choice roles. Whether he wants to get back into the world of superhero movie making remains to be seen, but it’s an intriguing possibility all the same.

Sources: Rotten Tomatoes, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, The Numbers