It's been a difficult couple of years for Henry Cavill. For a short time, the actor believed he'd return to the DC Extended Universe as Superman; brought back into the fold by Dwayne Johnson for a Black Adam cameo, he shot a small role in The Flash and announced his return as Kal-El along with plans for Man of Steel 2.
However, when Warner Bros. Discovery formed DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran fired Cavill and his role in the Scarlet Speedster's solo outing was left on the cutting room floor.
It was also around this time the British actor decided to bid farewell to The Witcher's Geralt of Rivia, leaving him without a regular gig. On the plus side, he's been cast in Matthew Vaughn's new spy thriller Argylle and remains a rumoured frontrunner to suit up as the next 007.
Recently, Cavill was asked whether he believes starring in the upcoming action comedy will jeopardise his chances to take on that iconic role.
"It’s a fun character," the actor told Total Film (via SFFGazette.com) when asked if he's concerned about that. "Whether I’m ruled out of Bond because of this or not is up to Barbara Broccoli and Mr. Wilson."
As for that bizarre haircut he's rocking in Argylle, Cavill credited Vaughn with giving him such an unexpected look.
"Matthew came up with it, and said, 'Look, trust me, I can make it look good,'" he says. "You know what? You don’t just wake up and have a flattop. It takes work. I don’t know if I have the time or the patience for that kind of carry-on when it comes to my hair, in real life."
Regardless of whether he ends up playing James Bond or not, Cavill has had a taste of the spy genre with his villainous turn in Mission: Impossible - Fallout and looks to be having a lot of fun in Argylle.
The greater the spy, the bigger the lie. From the twisted mind of Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman franchise, Kick-Ass) comes Argylle, a razor-witted, reality-bending, globe-encircling spy thriller.
Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World franchise) is Elly Conway, the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books—which center on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate—begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past.
Accompanied by Aiden (Oscar winner Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly’s fictional world and her real one begins to blur.
The ensemble cast also features Henry Cavill (The Witcher), John Cena (Fast X), Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Dua Lipa (Barbie), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service), and Samuel L. Jackson (Secret Invasion).
Argylle is directed and produced by Matthew Vaughn, from a screenplay by Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman). It arrives in theaters on February 2.