Brendan Fraser reveals he almost played Superman (and why he missed out)

Brendan Fraser was a Hollywood It Guy back in the late ’90s and early ’00s, thanks to roles in movies like The Mummy and George of the Jungle. And apparently, around that time, he came close to landing another big part: Superman in J.J. Abrams’ origin story movie that never came to pass.

“Of course, it’s a life-changing, amazing opportunity,” Fraser said on The Howard Stern Show, noting that it might have been for the best that he didn’t get the gig. “I think inherently I didn’t want to be known for only one thing because I prided myself on diversity my whole professional life … I’m not a one-trick pony.”

At the same time, it would have cool to have such an iconic part under his belt. “I felt disappointed that there was an amazing opportunity, and it didn’t come to fruition,” he said. “It had to do with some [real] shenanigans and studio politics and, probably, inherently in my screen test … they could kind of see I was only there like 98 percent.”

Brendan Fraser describes his Batgirl character Firefly

Fraser finally did get to become part of the DC Universe by playing Cliff Steele/Robotman in the HBO Max series Doom Patrol. He also played the villain Firefly in Batgirl, a movie that was shot but was eventually deemed “not releasable.”

“It was a story about a guy who had been in the service and his benefits were cut and he was very angry with the system and what else he is going to do but burn it to the ground?” Fraser said of his Batgirl character. “You’ve got some sympathy to him, you’ve also got some humanity to him, and on top of that, a screw loose … Like all the best bad guys, you kind of like him a little bit. I relished this part — it was great fun.”

Fraser is currently generating Oscar buzz for his performance in The Whale. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery is trying to get a new slate of DC films off the ground, with James Gunn and Peter Safran at the helm.

Keanu Reeves will still star in Constantine 2

Speaking of those upcoming movies, nowhere in Gunn’s announcement video did he mention a sequel to 2005’s Constantine, a movie about the mystical superhero starring Keanu Reeves. DC had announced that separately a while back. Had they dropped it?

Happily, no. Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the movie was still on. I guess it just slipped Gunn’s mind.

Most likely, when the Constantine sequel does come out, it won’t be a part of the broader cinematic universe that Gunn and Safran are building, but more of a standalone thing.

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