Featured Image Credit: The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? / Super Skull Ship
Topics: Nicolas Cage, Superman, Film and TV
Callum Jones
Topics: Nicolas Cage, Superman, Film and TV
It is often quite fascinating seeing behind-the-scenes clips of actors, producers and directors for some of the biggest films out there.
It is even more so for films that have never seen the light of day and were eventually cancelled as we try to work out what went wrong.
Sometimes, these clips can give us an idea of the direction the film was heading, and maybe why it was cancelled.
A clip has resurfaced on Twitter in the last day that shows actor Nicolas Cage testing the Superman costume for Tim Burton's cancelled 1997 film Superman Lives.
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In the clip, you hear the director ask: "So, Nic, like, movement and stuff seems pretty good, huh?"
While swinging his arms up, Cage replies: "Yeah, I mean, you were saying it'll feel a little looser the more I wear it? This is great, look at that."
Derek Frey, the director's assistant then chimed in: "Initially, I was really struck at how he looked in that suit.
"His physique—It was different than what we had seen before. Obviously, he's quite a lean fella, but there was a certain power to him as well.
"Obviously, They're early tests - It's about the giddiness, the excitement of Tim and Nic, and their passion for it, and their first exploration of the character. That's what always got me excited."
Burton and Warner Bros had reached a deal that Superman Lives would be released in the summer of 1998, but the film was ultimately canned.
The movie was intended as a reboot for the 1980s Superman films but was apparently cancelled because of the poor box office performance of Burton's Mars Attack which released in 1996.
Cage spoke about the cancelled project in an interview on the Empire Podcast back in 2013.
He said: "He's a great artist (Burton), and I'm sure he would have done something really magnificent with the story of Superman and I knew I was going to go towards something quite unique and different than anything you've seen with Superman.
"But having said that, in a way, it was a win-win for me that it didn't work out, because the power of the imagination [allows you to] imagine what that might have been like. That might be even more powerful than the finished product, so I think it worked out."
Fans have wanted Cage as Superman as recently as a few years ago. Back in 2018, one fan wrote on Twitter: "With Henry Cavill out, there’s only one person who can save the DCEU and it’s Nicolas Cage as Superman, finally."
Meanwhile, a second added: "Good Luck WB trying to find a better Superman than Henry Cavill. It’s Nicolas Cage’s turn."
But unfortunately, the short clip from the documentary The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? is all we have of Cage and Superman.