A sigh of immense relief. That would’ve been the first reaction for Henry Cavill as the world was let in on the latest superhero secret. At the announcement the Englishman is to be the next Superman (in yet another reboot of the franchise), months of speculation have finally come to a close, and now Cavill can breathe easy knowing his shot has finally come.

The ‘unluckiest man in Hollywood’ tag would no doubt be a huge weight on anyone’s shoulders – but for Cavill it has truly been brutal. While finding success on BBC’s The Tudors (shown on Foxtel’s Showtime in Australia), he has been unlucky to barely miss out on some major roles. There was the last Superman film (Superman Returns, going to Brandon Routh), then Batman Begins (lost to Christian Bale) and of course the latest Bond reboot (now helmed by Daniel Craig). While for Bond he was considered too young, by author Stephenie Meyer he was deemed too old to play the role of Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise, which he was the hot favourite for (as well as her personal dream choice while writing the books). The poor guy couldn’t win.

With smaller roles in Stardust and Tristan+Isolde, the jump to Superman will bring a different kind of weight for Cavill, as it arguably unsuccessfully did for Routh. The new announcement has been in the pipeline for some time but it seems now that Superman Returns will be totally disregarded in the history of the franchise. Ok, so it didn’t make the big bucks it probably should’ve – but what’s to blame there? It’s almost as if the Man of Steel franchise wasn’t being taken seriously at that point… but it sure as hell will be now. Zack Snyder’s (Watchmen, 300) made a big impact with the small amount of films he’s released; it’s understandable that someone well and truly on a roll is the best person for the job. And of course there’s Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) slated as the produce. Nuff said. We should expect plenty of action and a meatier story than we’re used to from the previous films – how extremely interesting it would be if they used anything at all from Smallville as a case study (still going after 10 seasons if you were wondering… can hardly believe it myself). Highly unlikely, but with these two on board anything can happen.

As for Cavill, it’s his time to step up. After the one (or four) that got away, all eyes will be on him until the 2012 release with high and intrigued anticipation. These kinds of roles are life-changing for anyone lucky enough to be a ‘chosen one’. He should be thanking his lucky stars. And if Superman: Man of Steel blows us away, so will we.

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