Originally published December 6, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
When Zack Snyder cast Henry Cavill as the lead in Man of Steel, it wasn’t the British actor’s first brush with Superman. Back in 2004, Cavill was cast as the iconic superhero in Superman: Flyby, a planned reboot from director McG (Charlie’s Angels) and screenwriter J.J. Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness), which ultimately fell apart when Bryan Singer came on board and cast Brandon Routh in 2006’s Superman Returns. And, thanks to ThinkMcFlyThink, we have a glimpse of Cavill in the red-and-blue from his 2004 screen test for Flyby…
Superman: Flyby was intended as an origin tale that would have radically altered the traditional Superman story, with Kal-El being sent to Earth as an infant during a Civil War on Krypton and eventually coming to battle his evil cousin Ty-Zor and his three Kryptonian cronies, but only after being killed in action and subsequently resurrected. Other actors said to have been considered for the role at the time included Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), Paul Walker (Fast & Furious), Ashton Kutcher (That ’70s Show), David Boreanaz (Angel), James Marsden (X-Men), Victor Webster (Charmed), Jason Behr (Roswell), Jared Padalecki (Supernatural), Michael Cassidy (Men at Work) and Josh Hartnett (30 Days of Night), with the latter reportedly turning down a $100 million three-picture deal.
