Henry Cavill believes that Justice League brought his Superman much closer to the comic book version of the character. The actor made his debut as the iconic DC superhero in Zack Snyder’s 2013 film, Man of Steel, and he reprised his role in the filmmaker’s 2016 epic, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Among the many complaints about both movies was that Cavill’s Superman was too far removed from the source material.

Justice League was always meant to conclude Superman’s story arc, from the moment he first became Superman in Man of Steel to the moment he became the Superman that everyone knows and loves in Justice League. That was done by newly-released superhero team-up movie providing audiences with the character’s rebirth – both literally and figuratively. The rebirth brought Superman back into the world, while also imbuing him with a new personality and brighter colored suit to boot. In doing so, Superman’s rebirth was mostly praised by critics and audiences alike for finally resembling the source material – well, to an extent.

In Justice League: The Art of the Film, Cavill revealed his thoughts on the DCEU’s Superman now being much closer to the comic book version of the character, as well as how happy he is to be finally playing that character on the big screen.

“For me, [Justice League] in particular has really drawn closer to the Superman character who we know and recognize from the comic books. I’ve enjoyed playing that enormously, playing that character of hope and optimism, inspiration and example.”

The Justice League Superman is certainly more reminiscent of the traditional Superman everyone knows from the comics, but one of the film’s biggest gripes was that the superhero’s rebirth wasn’t earned, so to speak, especially since Snyder wasn’t able to complete his Superman trilogy. The vast majority of Superman’s scenes in the film’s final cut came from Joss Whedon’s reshoots, which also featured additional dialogue written by the former Avengers director. The main sequence that was filmed during principal photography was the Superman vs. League fight that took place shortly after his resurrection.

Cavill is still contracted to play Superman one more time before he can hang up Big Blue’s costume for good, should he choose not to renew his contract. Although it’s unclear at this time which movie he will appear in, it’s safe to assume that his character’s depiction will remain true to the Justice League version going forward.