Zack Snyder might be late to Instagram, but he wasted no time making his stance on one of DC’s most debated topics very clear: who’s the definitive Superman? While many, including myself, think James Gunn’s take on the Kryptonian hero improved on a lot of the problems we had with Snyder’s Man of Steel, the filmmaker, known for his fiercely loyal fanbase, made his debut on the social media platform this week and immediately used his first post to reaffirm who he sees as the definitive ranked Man of Steel.
In one of his first uploads, the 300 director shared a moody black-and-white behind-the-scenes photo of Cavill suited up from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, shot on his beloved Leica monochrome 50mm Noctilux lens. His Instagram post, which can be seen below, was captioned with a short, deliberate, and unmistakably on-brand caption from the Sucker Punch filmmaker: “Henry Cavill is Superman.”
The post instantly caught fire among Snyder fans, many of whom have long championed Cavill’s portrayal as the definitive version of the iconic character. However, the update also reignited the never-ending debate on who is the best actor in the role of the Last Son of Krypton, especially since James Gunn’s reboot starring David Corenswet hit the 2025 release schedule and was a commercial and critical success–officially launching the slate of new DCU movies.
What Fans Are Saying In the Comments?
Within hours, the post’s comments turned into a passionate (and sometimes chaotic) clash between loyalists of the Watchmen director and fans of DC’s new direction. Here is a temperature check of what folks are saying after the director posted his Cavill pic:
- “Girl, move on.” – @thepurecinema
- “@thepurecinema, hey, I’m a fan of your page and your content. I’m a bit disappointed to see you being negative to a creator and his own content. I figured you of all people could understand sharing cinema and how awesome it can be to post on social media for everyone to appreciate. Try to be kinder.” – @joro_oz
- “@joro_oz, I guess the difference is he lives off of others’ content and doesn’t really ‘create’ anything of his own. Jealousy breeds negativity.” – @harshitsharma91
- “Henry Cavill is the Superman! Come back Zack Snyder, you are the best.” – @gustavo_bgx
- “OHHHH MY HEART 😍 my Supermán.” – @lis.wonder
- “David Corenswet is actually Superman. Hope this helps!” – @brendanwilloughbyray
- “@brendanwilloughbyray, Christopher Reeve is Superman. The part's just on loan 😝” – @samuel__prior
As you can see, the debate covers just about every corner of the fandom — from those still loyal to Cavill, to fans who believe Corenswet is the Superman they’ve been waiting for, to others nostalgic for Christopher Reeve’s charm and classic swoop. Wherever you land, there’s something to appreciate in every version of the Man of Steel.
The Army of the Dead creator’s message comes through loud and clear, despite the heated back-and-forth in the comments. His loyalty to Henry Cavill, who first donned the cape in 2013’s Man of Steel, hasn’t wavered. Even though there were very divided reactions to his take on the hero of Metropolis, Snyder has consistently praised Cavill as “the perfect Superman,” crediting him for balancing strength with vulnerability.
And, for fans wanting to revisit their favorite version of the Big Blue Boy Scout, the good news is you don’t have to pick sides; Man of Steel and the rest of DC’s legacy titles are available to stream with an HBO Max subscription.
I, for one, loved David Corenswet’s performance as Clark Kent and his superhero alter ego. Still, even if the DC Universe has moved on to its next chapter, Gods & Monsters, one thing is certain, and that is that in Zack Snyder’s world, Henry Cavill will always be the Man of Steel.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
