In the 1990s, on the back of the huge success of Batman and Batman Returns, director Tim Burton set his sights on creating a movie about the Man of Steel. Titled Superman Lives, the flick was to feature Nicolas Cage in the title role. It would have been the first big screen Superman movie since Christopher Reeves played the role, and would have featured three villains: Brainiac, Lex Luthor, and Doomsday. But the project eventually fell apart due in part to a string of superhero movie flops; 1997’s infamous Batman & Robin was the final nail in the coffin.
Two decades later, Cage is still keeping the dream alive. The actor has intersected a tiny bit with the Superman universe, having voiced him in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, but that certainly wasn’t the big-budget live-action blockbuster we wanted.
In a recent interview with GQ, Cage said there remains a distant possibility of him finally getting to play Clark Kent. “Would it matter how much time I appeared as the character?” he asked. “There might still be a chance.”
Whether we’re talking Marvel or DC, the multiverse is all the rage nowadays; perhaps a Nicolas Cage Superman will show up for a cameo appearance at some point. Funnily enough, due to a “Pay or play” contract, Cage still got paid a healthy $20 million from the shelved movie.
What would Nicolas Cage look like as Superman?
There actually are a couple images online of Cage wearing a Superman outfit in pre-production. There’s also a lot of fan art that shows what he would look like as the iconic hero:
Cage may have missed the opportunity to play the Man of Steel on the big screen (for now), but we have seen him as a superhero: I’m talking about Ghost Rider and its sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Although granted, they weren’t the most popular of superhero movies.
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