Superman Lives : 10 Things to Know About Tim Burton’s Canceled DC Movie

10) Clark Kent must have been a little crazy

With Superman Lives, Tim Burton wanted to get away from the history we all know. The filmmaker wanted to move away from the story of the comics or the film of Richard Donner to offer his own adaptation of the myth. So, in Superman LivesClark Kent must have been a little unbalanced. In Burton’s film, the protagonist only learned his origins much later, when he had already become Superman. In the scenario of Kevin Smith, Superman had difficulty managing his dual identity. So much so that the character followed a psychologist to manage his emerging bipolarity because of his two personalities: Superman and Clark Kent. Disturbing…

9) Polar bears as guardians of the fortress of solitude

In Superman Lives, the Fortress of SolitudeSuperman’s HQ, was to be guarded by polar bears. In the basic story, Brainiac even had to fight these wild animals. An idea that left Kevin Smith perplexed. But it’s the producer John Peters who had insisted that this idea be kept, even though he found that the film lacked action. Maybe not the best idea ever though…

8) A Batman cameo?

Before Superman LivesTim Burton had already taken care of the production of Batman (1989) and Batman the challenge (1992) with Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne. It is therefore not very surprising to learn that Keaton was to make a third appearance as Batman in Superman Lives. However, no details have been revealed about this potential cameo. But such a meeting would have led to an earlier version of Batman v Superman.

7) The Death of Superman

Superman Lives owed a lot take inspiration from comics The Death of Supermanreleased in 1992. A cult story which features the death of Supermankilled by Doomsday. An idea taken up by Zack Snyder In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Already, in the 1990s, Tim Burton wanted to use the comics by Dan Jurgens and Roger Stern for his film with Nicolas Cage. Superman’s death therefore had to be staged, which logically suggests the presence of Doomsday in the scenario. Michael Keaton notably had to return as Bruce Wayne to interact during Superman’s funeral. During the film, Superman would have returned from the dead to avenge the assassination of Lois Lane, also killed by the supervillain. Ideas that were to appear in the Znyderverse abandoned…

6) A giant spider

In addition to polar bears, the producer Jon Peters wanted to feature a giant spider. Peters insisted that The Man of Steel fight a giant spider in the film’s final act. Kevin Smith later indicated that the producer was downright obsessed with this idea. After the cancellation of Superman LivesJon Peters took his idea and inserted it into Wild Wild West.

5) The villains of the film

Superman Lives was to feature a big series of villains. Doomsday, Brainiac and Lex Luthor were to be the main threats of the film. It is rumored that Brainiac and Lex Luthor were to merge into one villain under the name of Luthiac or Lexiac. The latter would then create Doomsday. This evil hybrid’s ultimate plan was to destroy Earth and seduce Lois Lane. Superman obviously had to return in time to turn the tables. But the idea seemed to be abandoned with each new version of the script. But as if things weren’t strange enough, Brainiac was supposed to give Lex Luthor a space dog so that Warner Bros can sell derivative products…

4) Casting side

On the casting side, many names were put forward during the pre-production of Superman Lives. Before Nicolas Cage was chosen by Tim Burton, Ben Affleck was also in the running for the role of the Man of Steel. Linda Fiorentino was to play Lois Lane, Jack Nicholson was in pole position for Lex Luthor (strange choice when the actor had just played the Joker), Famke Janssen were expected in the role of Mercy Graves, John Mahoney in the role of Perry White, David Hyde Pierce in the role of The Eradicator, Jason Lee in the role of Brainiac and Jason Mewes as Jimmy Olsen. Kevin Spacey, Tim Allen and Christopher Walken were also all related to Brainiac, and the latter was considered Tim Burton’s first choice. Kevin Spacey finally got his revenge since he played Lex Luthor in Superman Returns (2006). Finally Chris Rock and Courtney Cox were also considered for the roles of Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane.

3) A gay robot?

Jon Peters also wanted Brainiac has a gay robot sidekick. According to Kevin Smith, Jon Peters wanted “a gay R2-D2” as Brainiac’s sidekick. Titled L-Ronthe character had to share the vast majority of his scenes with Brainiac, and even had to occasionally break the fourth wall to make jokes to the public about his condition as despot of an intergalactic tyrant. Another funny idea from Jon Peters.

2) Multiple costumes

In addition to the photos of Nicolas Cage in the Superman costume, the film Tim Burton was to present other super-costumes. Superman had indeed to wear a regenerative suit upon his return from the dead. And a black costume inspired by comics. A robotic ally of the hero in the Fortress of Solitude would even have transformed into a metallic suit.

1) Why was the film canceled?

Creative problems, budget cuts, Kevin Smith’s firing, delayed the project Superman Lives. By dint of postponements, Tim Burton gradually moved away from the projectpushing Warner to simply cancel Superman Lives. Tim Burton did rather well since he left with a $5 million compensatory check. Warner then tried to relaunch Superman several times in the cinema, until the release of Superman Returns in 2006, which takes up certain elements of the scenario of Superman Lives. Unfortunately, the film Bryan Singer was a failure, and we will be eternally disappointed not to have had the opportunity to see Nicolas Cage as the Kryptonian (not its numerical appearance in The Flashit does not count !).