Wait, Did Henry Cavill’s Superman Almost Get A Mullet In Zack Snyder’s Justice League?

Superman (Henry Cavill) flies into action in Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

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Zack Snyder’s Justice League has arrived, and it gives DC Extended Universe fans just about anything they could ask for. The original cut adds a number of elements that were absent from the theatrical film, including the sleek, black suit Superman wears after he’s resurrected by the League. Many fans wondered how Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel would look with his new duds, and he pulled them off well. Though he was missing the mullet the character was sporting in the original comics and, as it turns out, the signature hairstyle actually could have made it into the film.

While promoting his version of Justice League, Zack Snyder has opened up quite a bit about what did and what didn’t make it into his cut. And during a recent interview with YouTuber Tyrone Magnus, the filmmaker revealed that he did, at one point, advocate for Henry Cavill’s Superman to have a mullet. He then went on to explain why it ultimately wasn’t added:

We talked about it a lot, and I was a slight advocate - a little bit for the mullet, but I think that there was no way to go back from that and at the time the studio was really leaning on me pretty hard. I was lucky to be able to figure it out, so I could get the black suit... I had done a lot of research before, so we knew how to turn the color suit black. I always said I’d shoot the colored suit, but it’s a mistake. I’m just saying it out loud to you guys, this is bullshit. And so they were like, ‘You don’t know what you are talking about, nobody wants a black suit, let's just do the colors.’ And so but, I thought, 'Look, in post, you guys are going to change your minds.' But, here we are with the black suit. But yeah, the beard and the long hair… there was no way to undo that.

Unlike the black suit, a potential mullet for Superman would have been irreversible in post-production had Zack Snyder and his team had second thoughts about it. It’s also likely Warner Bros. may not have been completely down for it as well, especially if the powers that be weren’t even totally behind the black suit at the time.

Zack Snyder took inspiration from the famous “The Death of Superman” crossover event when crafting the character’s arc from Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice to Justice League. And in the comics, when Superman is resurrected, the character sports a black suit and longer hair due to having been in hibernation to heal. Although it would have been a nice callback to the comics, it’s probably better that Snyder and his team opted not to add a mullet or facial hair. They definitely could have changed their minds later on and, as we all know, removing hair in post can sometimes be tricky when it comes to the DCEU.

Still, fans definitely got an intense (and optimistic) rendition of Henry Cavill’s Superman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. While we’re still waiting to see if Cavill ever gets another chance to suit up, this is sure to make fans want to see him return. And based on Snyder’s recent comments, he wouldn’t mind telling more stories about Clark Kent and his teammates.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is now available to stream on HBO Max, which you can sign up for using this link.

Erik Swann
Senior Content Producer

Erik Swann is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He began working with the publication in 2020 when he was hired as Weekend Editor. Today, he continues to write, edit and handle social media responsibilities over the weekend. On weekdays, he also writes TV and movie-related news and helps out with editing and social media as needed. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a degree in Broadcast Journalism. After shifting into multi-platform journalism, he started working as a freelance writer and editor before joining CB. Covers superheroes, sci-fi, comedy, and almost anything else in film and TV. He eats more pizza than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.