While DC needed clean-shaven Henry Cavill, ‘Mission: Impossible’ demanded $3M in reparation.

With or without a mustache, it’s for certain that no one can beat Henry Cavill’s good looks. But while fans drooled over the actor with his whiskers on, in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Cavill surprisingly faced some issues because of it. Nobody could have predicted that the actor’s mustache would cause so much drama.

Henry Cavill as August Walker in Mission: Impossible – Fallout
According to Mission: Impossible – Fallout director Christopher McQuarrie, while shooting Tom Cruise’s movie, Henry Cavill was simultaneously going through Justice League reshoots. This apparently caused some issues surrounding Cavill’s whiskers since the actor was supposed to be clean-shaven for his role as Superman. Hang on to learn about the drama that caused McQuarrie to ask $3M from the DC film’s producer.

The Drama Surrounding Henry Cavill’s Mustache

Only in Hollywood can a mustache cause so much controversy. Recapping the bizarre story surrounding Henry Cavill’s facial hair in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, director Christopher McQuarrie revealed how the actor’s follicular decision impacted two major blockbusters. According to an interview on Empire Podcast, McQuarrie opened up about Cavill’s “mustache-gate”.

According to the filmmaker, when Henry Cavill grew out his mustache for Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise, Warner Bros. unfortunately needed Cavill to squeeze in for summer reshoots for Justice League. Since Superman has always featured as a clean-shaven superhero, DC needed Cavill to get rid of his facial hair. But while Paramount allowed the actor to hop between productions, they strictly forbade him to shave.

Henry Cavill as Superman in a still from Justice League
Since Justice League needed a clean-shaven Henry Cavill and Mission: Impossible asked for a mustache, the actor, unfortunately, got tangled in the drama because of his follicular decision. Watching the actor getting squashed between two blockbusters for his mustache, Christopher McQuarrie admitted initially permitting Cavill to shave, even though it would have held up Mission: Impossible – Fallout’s production for weeks.

Christopher McQuarrie Asked $3M From Chuck Roven

Speaking with Empire Podcast, Christopher McQuarrie narrated the whole situation that messed things up and caused drama for Justice League, Mission: Impossible, as well as Henry Cavill. Addressing the fact that he was called out on X for majorly causing the drama as he decided not to use a stick-on ‘tache, McQuarrie explained his reasons.

“Everybody out there who’s been taking shots at me on Twitter for however long you have, a fake mustache in close-up on a 75mm lens is never going to look like anything but a fake mustache in close-up with a 75mm lens. And if you have any doubts about that, just go back and watch Tom Cruise in Rogue Nation with his beard and mustache. It’s passable for a scene, not for a film.”

Cavill in 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Admitting how he originally granted permission to Henry Cavill to shave for Justice League, the director recalled getting calls from the DC film’s producer Chuck Roven. “When the reshoots for Justice League came up [Justice League producer] Chuck Roven called me,” McQuarrie stated. Discussing how Roven begged for help, the Fallout director stated that he began talking to everyone on set to manage the issue.
“So, we offered the following compromise – Jake Myers calculated the amount of money that it would take to replace the number of shots. And essentially what Jake was able to project is about a $3 million visual effects budget. So, I don’t know how much Henry was in Justice League… but I can tell you how much it would have cost for Mission: Impossible to digitally add Henry Cavill’s mustache – and we said yes.”

Henry Cavill and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible- Fallout
“We said, here’s what we’ll do – give us the $3 million and we’ll shut down, and that’ll give Henry Cavill the time to grow his mustache back. And we’ll just shut our movie down.”
Unfortunately, although this compromise might have worked for both blockbusters, Paramount Pictures intervened and refused to shut down, even for $3M. As a result, Warner Bros. was left with no other choice but to remove Henry Cavill’s mustache digitally – a decision that partially derailed the film.

Mission: Impossible- Fallout is available on Paramount+.