The news came out last week that Henry Cavill will not return as Superman on the big screen after all. Despite being told by the studio he would. Despite being shoehorned into the post-credits scene in Black Adam. Cavill’s time as the Man of Steel is at an end. To that I say, good. Cavill was fine as Superman, but I am 110% in favor of putting an end to the DCEU and letting James Gunn take over completely.

With the Superman gig gone, and after dropping out of The Witcher, Henry Cavill is a free agent. He’s a pretty popular actor, and I’m sure he could be put to good use within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are plenty of superheroes who have yet to make their MCU debut, and there are plenty of those that Cavill could play. I’m not talking about Hyperion or Sentry, the obvious Superman knock-offs. Why are people pigeon-holing Cavill into those roles? The Marvel Universe is vast and exciting, and Cavill could be just about anyone.

Join me after the jump for six Marvel superhero roles that Henry Cavill could play in a future MCU project. And feel free to share your own suggestions in the comments below.

6. Captain Britain

The most obvious choice after Hyperion and/or Sentry is Captain Britain. Obvious because Cavill is British, and because I’m pretty sure he has said in the past that he’d want to play Captain Britain. So this one is a given. I think Captain Britain would be a tough sell for Marvel, but they’ve made stranger characters into heroes, so who am I to judge? Captain Britain is supposed to be the defender of the Multiverse, and there’s been a bunch of Multiversal stuff going on lately. So maybe he’s already in the cards somewhere?

5. Reed Richards

John Krasinski has said that his appearance as Mr. Fantastic in Multiverse of Madness was a one-off, Easter Egg sort of thing. That’s a shame, because I liked him in the role, and I’d be happy if he was the real Reed Richards in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. but if Krasinski is out, go ahead and slot Cavill in. He’s a handsome white man and…honestly, that probably counts for a lot in casting him. I’d be perfectly happy with a POC Reed Richards, but Cavill would also work.

4. Cyclops

There has been some talk of Cavill as Mister Sinister in some future X-Men films, but I do not like Sinister and have no interest fan-casting him with anybody. But I do like Cyclops, and just like Reed Richards, Cavill’s status as a handsome white man definitely puts him in the running for Cyclops. I definitely don’t want Cavill as Wolverine. I want the MCU to get somebody really unexpected and less conventionally handsome for Wolverine. But Cyclops can still be all handsome and white dudey.

3. Beta Ray Bill

I want Beta Ray Bill in the MCU. The Thor movies have hit a bit of a snag after the poor reception of Love and Thunder — which I enjoyed — but they can still happen! There can still be more! And Beta Ray Bill sounds like a strong character to use going forward. Bill’s story is one of nobility and heroism, of big, epic space battles. And I bet Cavill could do serious and noble just fine. Somebody’s gotta play Beta Ray Bill, right? And he needs to be distinct from Taika Waititi voicing Korg.

2. Silver Surfer

I just know that Marvel is going to do right by Silver Surfer and Galactus. Surely they can see how poorly everyone responded to that first movie by Fox. So Marvel will do epic and awesome, and they’ll need somebody to fulfill that noble, strong, somewhat silent type of the Silver Surfer. There are plenty of options available, I’m sure, but Cavill would be just fine. He’s slender and athletic, right? So I think he’d do just fine as the Sentinel of the Spaceways!

1. Doctor Doom

If not Reed Richards, then how about Doctor Doom? Cavill is British, so I bet he could play European nobility just fine. Doom is supposed to be handsome, and he’ll be masked for most of it anyway. I’d like to think Marvel is going to do right by Doctor Doom as well, and I think Cavill could do just fine as the noble villain. And I’m sure he’d be game to get into the really silly parts of Doom as well. Somebody big and great has to play Doom, and Cavill would suffice.

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