Hype comes in all shapes and sizes in the world of the internet. One moment you’re minding your own business, and the next a shirtless photo of Henry Cavill as Superman appears courtesy of Justice League director Zack Snyder, reminding you of how much you need to watch Netflix’s new series The Witcher.
At least, that’s what happened when a recent message board saw St. Cavill The Swole grace their timelines, prompting the response you’ll see in the comments below this blessed image:
from r/DC_Cinematic
Now obviously this image was also dropped around the holidays, as part of the huge Christmas gift Justice League director Zack Snyder gave his faithful fans. But while the Snyder Cut fans definitely had their fun, there was quite a bit of talk mentioning Henry Cavill’s Geralt and his Netflix exploits, which made for a fun Venn diagram of folks talking about both the DC film and The Witcher.
With its debut last week already spawning memes and interest in how Season 2 will propel The Witcher into less complicated territory for fans to enjoy, the new series is making the rounds on fan driven commentary platforms. All it takes is a mere mention of one of the cast members, and boom: another coin is tossed to Geralt’s pop culture imprint; something that makes the hellish diet Henry Cavill endured to become the chatacter all the more rewarding.
Of course, none of Snyder’s recent round of Justice League images would be complete without a reference to Arthurian legend, as the caption on the photo declares Cavill’s Superman as the Arthur to his Round Table of heroes.
All that’s missing at this point is fans of Henry Cavill’s work in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. to use the image from Zack Snyder’s social profile on Vero, which was shared via Reddit, to spark a new call for a sequel to Guy Richie’s underrated retro spy comedy. And if there was ever an image with the power to bind all Henry Cavill fans in their fandom, it’d surely be this one.
This is probably far from the last photo we’ll see of Cavill’s Superman in footage from the Snyder Cut of Justice League, but it has to be said that it came at a pretty convenient time for both Zack Snyder’s efforts to bring the film into reality, and Netflix’s campaign to make The Witcher a must see show in the world of streaming.
While Superman may not have been the best leader of the Justice League team, he does seem to be a unifier of internet culture. So maybe the “S” on his chest stands for “Hope” after all, because if a shirtless Henry Cavill can inspire this much positivity in fandom, who knows what else he could do?
In the case of Justice League, it might just move a couple home video purchases or rentals, as the film is available, in its non-Snyder Cut format, on digital HD, Blu-ray, and DVD. Meanwhile, The Witcher’s complete first season is available for streaming on Netflix.
