Henry Cavill losing out on James Bond might be the best thing that ever happened to him

Cavill’s made his love for Bond clear many times since, but with a new franchise reset imminent, ironically Cavill may now be too old and too well-known for the part, as a younger, fresher-faced Bond — much like Craig was at the time — would be beneficial for the series’ longevity. And, you know what, that’s fine. Although it must’ve been a huge blow for the up-and-coming actor at the time, losing out on playing James Bond is really the best thing that could’ve happened to Henry Cavill’s career.

The surprising way missing out on 007 improved Henry Cavill’s career

For whatever reason, Henry Cavill’s become known for the bad breaks he’s had to face in his career. He missed out on Bond, his Superman career was cut short. Heck, he was even hand-chosen by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer to become Edward Cullen, but producers still went with Robert Pattinson. But it’s really high time this narrative was dispelled: Cavill is actually one of the luckiest actors in the business. And it’s all thanks to Casino Royale kicking him to the curb.

Instead of becoming attached to one iconic character, being unshackled from Bond has allowed Cavill to dive into numerous legendary roles and IPs. Superman, Geralt of Rivia, Sherlock Holmes, and let’s not forget his Warhammer 40K universe. Sure, Craig managed to strike gold and now has Benoit Blanc to his name as well, but there’s no way Cavill would’ve established himself as Hollywood’s go-to franchise figurehead if he had put on Jimmy B’s tux all those years ago.

Cavill’s latest projects make it abundantly clear that he hasn’t lost anything by missing out on Bond either. February’s Argylle sees him land the title role in a metafictional subversive spy thriller that makes 007’s adventures seem old-fashioned and staid by comparison. And then, in April, he’s set to lead Guy Ritchie’s next outing, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a film about the very first spies, the British SOE in World War Two.

Director Martin Campbell might’ve been way out of line when he body-shamed the young actor back in 2005, but in choosing Craig over Cavill he gave him the gift of a sustained and varied film and TV career that just keeps on taking unexpected turns. Who knows, maybe he will come back to Bond the long way around. If it does happen, though, it would only be because 007 needs him, not the other way around.