The Super Origins Of Henry Cavill’s Mustachioed Googlebook Collab

Without a doubt, Henry Cavill is a hero for the ages. From his time as Superman to The Witcher, to incredible roles in Mission: Impossible and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, to the upcoming Highlander reboot, at 43 years old, it seems there’s little that Cavill can’t do. And, as some fans now know, he’s also a huge geek, specifically when it comes to his love of gaming.

Recently, Cavill has partnered with Googlebook to create his own ‘80s-inspired video game called Mustache Protocol, which he built himself with Google Antigravity. If you miss the 16-bit side-scrollers of the past, this tongue-in-cheek game is both hilarious and fun to play. In the game, players will embark on an epic quest to stop rogue CGI artists from erasing all the mustaches in the world. Get it?

“Obviously that very strong meme going around of me, both mustachioed and mustache-less.”

To support the release, Cavill is starring in a series of YouTube videos about the making of Mustache Protocol. As Google has made clear, they’re also “partnering with Movember to turn this collaboration into real-world support for men’s health. For every game played, Google will donate $11 to Movember to support awareness and funding for men's mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.”

As his Mustache Protocol went live and Episode 3 of the YouTube series dropped, Inverse caught up with Henry Cavill to talk about the game’s inspiration, his favorite games of all time, and why he’ll never stop being Superman.

The ‘80s vibe of Mustache Protocol is really great. Can you unpack the inspirations for me?

When Google approached me to start conversations about this, they had a concept in mind. And then, obviously, the important thing is to showcase the features of Googlebook, but we also wanted to have a lot of fun with it as well. I wanted to lean as much as possible into poking fun at me.

During the Justice League release, the theatrical release, there was obviously that very strong meme going around of me, both mustachioed and mustache-less. And we thought that was a great idea to just have a good giggle. It hasn't really ever gone away, that joke. And so we thought, let's lean into it and let's have some fun while we showcase the incredible features of Googlebook.

“I wanted to chase down as many of those old games.”

Mustache Protocol feels like it could exist in the Mission: Impossible universe as well. Tell me a bit about what it was like actually making an '80s-inspired game. What did it feel like when you were working on it alone?

Working with Google on this was great. They came with a concept, and then we got to lean into the ‘80s stuff. But what was funny is that because I was getting into the ‘90s, I wanted to chase down as many of those old games, and I was like, “Wow, some of those games are really bad in comparison to what you play now.” [Laughs] I remember playing the athletics games on the SNES, and it was just hours and hours of my brothers gently giving ourselves blisters on our thumbs. [Laughs]

So it was so much fun to revisit that and to dip back into the ‘80s. I'm very much a man who loves contemporary times and forging forward, but it was a wonderful walk down memory lane to be playing around with the music and the visual style of Mustache Protocol.

Speaking of memory lane, do you have favorite video games? Of all time?

That is so difficult to answer because I have lots of favorites for different reasons and in different genres. I feel like I'm betraying some loved ones. But I’ll try to keep it to three, or maybe four or five. So: Skyrim, Warhammer, Red Dead Redemption II, and XCOM.

And I said I would stop, but I have to say World of Warcraft. I think that’s poignant to mention with WoW: Forever coming out. I’m tempted to return to that old friend and that old play style.

Speaking of Warhammer, how is that show going?

It's going really well. Obviously near and dear to my heart, Warhammer. So it's one of those things which I want to make sure is absolutely perfect, and we're protecting the IP whilst also telling the best story we can possibly tell, which will lead to better stories. Mike Flanagan is an incredible partner. He's such an enormously talented man.

Thinking about nostalgia, has becoming a dad changed your feelings about having been Superman?

It’s funny you bring that up. Sometimes people send my daughter Superman stuff as a joke. Just the other day, we opened this Superman toy, and she looked at it and said, “It’s Dada!” She’s only 2 years and 4 months, so no idea how she knows that’s me; what kind of cosmic connection that was. But it really touched my heart in a special way, because obviously playing Superman was such an honor.

I’ve met so many young people throughout my tenure [as Superman], and it was always very touching to be able to be Superman for them and have parents handing them over and saying, “It’s Superman.” But when it was with my own daughter — and she still doesn’t know who Superman is — that moment brought it to such a wonderful point. It really brought it home to me, and it really, really, really warmed my heart. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have that opportunity and to have had that experience of her looking at that Superman toy.

“I’ve had such a wonderful time playing Superman in the past. I would never say never now.”

Well, you’ll always be Superman. Even though you’ve done so many wonderful films. And we’re all excited to see you as Connor MacLeod [in Highlander]. But this whole Googlebook game came about because of the Justice League joke. Would you ever do Superman again? Could you be, maybe, I don’t know, the Kingdom Come Superman?

Look, there's lots of fantastic storylines. There's always a lot of opportunity. As the pigeon sang to Fievel in An American Tail, “never say never.” And I buy into that. I’ve had such a wonderful time playing Superman in the past. I would never say never now.

You can play Mustache Protocol right here.