When news broke that Henry Cavill had signed a new deal with Warner Bros. to return as Superman, many believed it was the first step towards getting a Man of Steel 2. After all, the original was the movie that jump-started the DCEU in the first place.

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Unfortunately, however, Supes sort of got lost in the shuffle after that. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is essentially a Batman film as Ben Affleck was getting his introduction into the universe, and when you throw in Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor, there didn’t seem to be that much time for Clark Kent.

Then came Justice League and Superman was dead for most of that. And when he wasn’t, all anyone could think about was his distracting CGI upper lip. It’s been a bad beat for Cavill, to say the least. Essentially benching him in favor of other DC characters appears to be what Warner Bros. wanted though because according to a report from Heroic Hollywood, the studio doesn’t believe the iconic superhero can lead his own movie right now.

“A stand-alone Superman movie would not be successful at this time,” said an insider. “Perhaps once there’s more momentum after playing a supporting role in some successful DC films, there would be more of a chance for a stand-alone film.”

As mentioned before, all he’s been doing is supporting roles and WB is apparently not confident in Cavill or the character enticing audiences. There could be a number of factors resulting in this, too, such as Superman representing an outdated ideology and the simple fact that he’s white. This country doesn’t really need a white savior at the moment. Even if he’s technically an alien.

Cavill does appear to have some leverage, though. He and his mustache were excellent in Mission: Impossible – Fallout and he’s the star of the popular Netflix show, The Witcher. No doubt he could ride that momentum into another solo effort. Besides, say what you will about Justice League, but the last 15 minutes when Superman returns is what everyone wanted to see in Man of Steel 2. A confident, cocky and earnest Superman living up to his true potential. No more daddy issues or an identity crisis.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear we’ll be getting a sequel for the foreseeable future, but with Cavill signed on the dotted line, there’s still always hope for a return.