Henry Cavill admits approach of recent DC superhero movies 'hasn't necessarily worked'

Superman himself Henry Cavill has admitted that DC Comics and Warner Bros approach to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) of interconnected films - that started with 2013's Man of Steel - "hasn't necessarily worked" after a string of critically-panned films.

Cavill's comments come in the lead up to the release of Justice League: the DCEU's big superhero team-up in which big name heroes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash will team up for the first time on the big screen.

"Even if Marvel didn't exist, we'd struggle," Cavill said in a profile piece for The Rake. "There was a style they [DC] were going for, an attempt to be different and look at things from a slightly different perspective, which hasn't necessarily worked.

"Yes, it has made money but it has not been a critical success; it hasn't given everyone that sensation which superheroes should give the viewer."

Inspired by Marvel's enormous success with its Marvel Cinematic Universe, Warner Bros and DC has embarked on its own series starting with Man of Steel and continuing with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad in 2016.

The films strived for a darker, more grounded tone inspired by the success of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, while Marvel's success was rooted in more light-hearted and colorful adventures.

This year Wonder Woman became the DCEU's first real success, and in large part that came down to its tone. It was hopeful, and captured the heroism that was largely absent from the films before it.

Cavill agrees that Wonder Woman shows the way forward. "I think it is a wonderful time for the female hero. It is the perfect setting in social politics right now, we need it, we want that perspective, and Wonder Woman has struck at the ideal time and has become a phenomenal success, which is fantastic.

"Any success within the superhero universe, especially within the DC Universe, is wonderful, because I want to keep telling the Superman story; selfishly, that works for me.

"I feel like now the right mistakes have been made and they haven't been pandered [to], and we can start telling the stories in the way they need to be told. It is even better to come back from a mistake or stylistic error into the correct vein because it will make it seem that much stronger. Wonder Woman was the first step in the right direction."

The next step, DC hopes, is Justice League - which continues the DCEU story following the events of Batman v Superman, which saw Cavill's character die. With Superman dead and a new threat presenting itself, Batman and Wonder Woman gather a superhero team.

The film was partially directed by Zack Snyder - who also directed Man of Steel and Batman v Superman - but he left the project after the tragic death of his daughter. Joss Whedon, who directed the first two Avengers films for Marvel, stepped in to complete the movie.

Justice League stars Cavill alongside Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Ray Fisher as Cyborg. It also stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons and JK Simmons.

The film is set to release on 17 November