This year saw Henry Cavill joining the likes of George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, Tom Welling and Brandon Routh by donning the red cape as Superman for Zack Snyder’s reboot Man of Steel. However, had Tim Burton had his way, we’d also be adding Nicolas Cage to that list, with the pair both attached to a reboot entitled Superman Lives during the mid-90s; now, if you’re even vaguely familiar with this project, it’s unlikely that you’ll shed too many tears over the fact that the plug was pulled, but according to Cage himself, it means we’ve missed out on a “gutsy” take on the Man of Steel.
“Very close, ” Cage told Metro when asked how close Superman Lives came to being a reality. “Look, I’m not going to be one of these guys that’s going to be, like, lamenting things. But is Tim Burton one of my favourite directors? Yes. Did I see some of the drawings of where he wanted to go? Yes. And I will tell you, they were fantastic and it would have been a mind-blowing experience. Did I have a concept of how to play the character? Yes, and I can tell you it would have been gutsy. So maybe Warner Bros. got scared because they had two artists that weren’t afraid to take chances.”
So, would you have liked to see Warner’s taking a chance on Burton’s vision for Superman? Let us know in the comments below…
Originally published December 10, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
