It all started with a single photo that popped up on the Internet. It was a picture of a long-haired Nicolas Cage as Superman. Let’s be honest, mentioning Nicolas Cage and playing Superman in the same sentence really doesn’t make much sense. But to be fair though the same was said over 25 years ago with Michael Keaton and playing Batman. Tim Burton’s Superman Lives might be the most famous comic book movie never made. Thanks to the efforts of filmmaker Jon Schnepp, his documentary, The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? gives us a glimpse of what might have been.
Warner Brothers back in 1996 approached Kevin Smith to write a screenplay for a new Superman movie, the aptly named Superman Lives. This project was inspired by the Death of Superman comic book storyline of the early 90’s. This was supposed to be the big reboot of not only the Superman franchise but also perhaps superhero films as a whole. It looked flashy, it looked lavished it looked like it could either be very great or very bad. Regardless, it would have been talked about.
This project languished in production hell for a couple of years and several rewrites and yet money was being spent at a rapid pace before one minute of film had been shot. Filmmaker Jon Schnepp takes us on a bizarre yet interesting journey into the making of a potential blockbuster that wasn’t. Hindsight is always 20-20 and there’s no telling whether or not Superman Lives would have been good or not. That might actually have been irrelevant. It would, however, be highly anticipated and eagerly awaited to the hit big screen if this film had come to fruition.
Remember, Burton’s Batman films have long been regarded as the purest depictions of creator Bob Kane’s vision of the Dark Knight. What he discusses regarding Superman makes one ponder the possibilities. Unfortunately for us, we’ll never know how good or how bad it could’ve been. The death of Superman Lives not only put a temporary “end” to the Superman franchise but superhero films in general.
To date, there have been six feature films regarding Superman. With the exception of the first 2 by the late Christopher Reeve, each one that has followed have either been much maligned as cinematic disasters (Superman’s 3 & 4) or potentials that just missed the mark (Superman Returns and Man of Steel). In the end knowing just how close this project came to becoming a reality is actually quite disappointing. This time, it wouldn’t be Doomsday or Kryptonite that killed Superman. It was a much stronger green substance called money. Between an oversized budget and egos to match at Warner, these outside distractions essentially ruined one of the more ambitious superhero films of that time or any other since.
I never once looked at Nic Cage and saw the Man of Steel. But going back to my opening paragraph, I never looked at Michael Keaton and saw The Dark Knight and looked how that turned out. After listening to Tim Burton and seeing the concept art and just knowing the creative vision Burton would have instilled into this project, you can’t help but wonder, what if? It’s that wonder that makes this a must see for any fan of the superhero genre of films.
DEATH OF SUPERMAN LIVES: WHAT HAPPENED? – ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
