Above shows Nicolas Cage in a skin-tight, Superman suit, an image that recently went viral. Of course, we can laugh at his long hair (he would be a strange looking Man of Steel) and the ridiculousness of it. With the knowledge we possess of Cage’s over-the-top acting style, we can only wonder what could have become of Superman Lives. But are we jumping to conclusions?
These, now famous, photos of Cage were actually released back in 2009, but with the hype surrounding Jon Schnepp’s Kickstarter funded documentary, The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? (set to release July 9th, 2015), the image is now making big noise around the web. The documentary will feature footage of Nicolas Cage trying on his new Superman suit, interviews with would-be director Tim Burton, super-nerd Kevin Smith, Grant Morrison, and many other creative professionals who speak highly of the ideas behind the failed film. Here’s Schnepp’s trailer below:
The film was set to showcase the villainous likes of Brainiac, Lex Luthor, and Doomsday as its main antagonists; following the storyline of The Death of Superman comics. The script says (via blastr.com) that Superman dies in battle and is resurrected by the gel of a Kryptonian Immersion Tank (bottom of page 60); Also, on page 69, the gel melds with Superman’s body, creating the black suit we see Cage wearing in the photo.
Okay, so Superman Lives would’ve probably been Batman and Robin with ten times more camp, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have been awesome campy fun much like the latter. The fact that 2,121 backers raised $115,110 to make Schnepp’s The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? a reality is proof of fan approval at least. And even if the likes of io9 may feel differently, bring to light that “yes, Superman spits on a monster… to death.”, this writer wants to see Nicolas Cage in a Superman suit—who wouldn’t want to see that.
So is the world too quick to judge Nic Cage’s Superman, or would it be too insane for us to handle? Check out The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? when it releases on July 9th!
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Man I can’t wait for that long-awaited doco. As much as I don’t care for Burton’s Batman, a Burton Superman film would have at the very least been interesting.
Never cared for 90s Supes with the long hair either. I guess Cage in that suit is the closest thing we’ll see to Space Jesus a.k.a. Superman with long hair.
I would like to point out that, despite what the io9 claim, the script you linked to (the Wesley Strick one) was not the final script. Dan Gilroy’s script was.