Movies

The $30M Tim Burton ‘Superman’ film you’ll never see


As a screenwriter, Kevin Smith was a hot commodity in the mid-’90s. Warner Bros. offered him his choice of projects: a film remake of the TV show “The Outer Limits”; “Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian”; or an attempt to revitalize Superman.

Unsurprisingly, the comic-book aficionado chose what would eventually be called “Superman Lives.” Tim Burton was set to direct, with Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel. But the project evaporated before filming began, burning over $10 million in development costs — and wasting a year in the life of everyone involved.

Nicolas CageGetty Images

As told in a new documentary, “The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?” Smith met with producer Jon Peters in 1996. His first cause for concern came when Peters told him, “You know why you and me are gonna do a good job on ‘Superman?’ Cause you and me — we’re from the streets.”

“I was thinking, ‘I’m from the suburbs, and you’re a [former] hairdresser,’ ” the writer later said. “ ‘Neither of us is from the streets.’ ”

Peters gave Smith three directives. He didn’t want to see Superman in his usual suit; he didn’t want to see him fly; and Superman had to face off against a giant spider, since, Peters noted, “They’re the fiercest killers in the insect kingdom.”

Smith later returned to Peters’ home to read an 80-page outline to him out loud. Peters stared into a frame he made with his thumbs and index fingers, as if approximating the shape of a movie screen.

First, Smith said, Peters asked him, “Who the f–k is Kal-El?” (Kal-El is Superman’s real name.) Then, as Smith read of how the villain, Brainiac, would travel to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, only to find it empty, Peters asked, “Can’t Brainiac fight someone else there? What about Superman’s guards — his soldiers?”

This perplexed Smith, as Superman never had guards. He’s Superman. He doesn’t need them.

“Well, it’s in the Antarctic. What about polar bears?” Peters continued. “They’re the fiercest killers in the animal kingdom.”

Smith’s script saw Superman die after Brainiac deprived him of his powers (he was later regenerated). It had Superman taking off for the skies as an instantaneous blur — no flying visible — and a scene where Brainiac fought polar bears at the Fortress of Solitude.

Illustrator Rolf Mohr was commissioned to create conceptual art for "Superman Lives," including a giant spider merged with the disembodied head of villain Brainiac (left). Another villain in the script? Fighting polar bears.
Illustrator Rolf Mohr created conceptual art for a giant spider merged with the disembodied head of villain Brainiac (left). Fighting polar bears were to be villains in “Superman Lives.”(Left) Rolf Mohr, (right) Getty Images

After Smith submitted his script, director Tim Burton (“Batman”) signed on. He jettisoned the script, hiring “Arachnophobia” writer Wesley Strick. Burton saw Superman as the ultimate outsider.

(Superman)’s in a relationship with Lois Lane and he can’t commit…because he doesn’t know who he is.

 - Writer Dan Gilroy on the rewrite of 'Superman Lives'

Strick’s rewrite — followed by yet another one by Dan Gilroy (“Nightcrawler”) — called for Clark Kent to discover he’s an alien, giving him cause for existential uncertainty.

While the movie never made it before the cameras, Cage did come in for wardrobe tests.

Says Smith, “He has a jacket…khakis…nobody would ever imagine this person was Superman.”

Meanwhile, the suit Superman wore for his regeneration was like nothing fans had ever seen: translucent, with flashing lights and a reflective “S.”

Gilroy’s draft even put the Man of Steel in therapy. “He’s in a relationship with Lois Lane and he can’t commit…because he doesn’t know who he is…He’s hoping that he has some physiological condition that gives him these powers, but that he’s still human,” Gilroy told Indiewire.

The movie died in pre-production weeks before filming, with blame placed on Warner Bros.’ unhappiness with the script and the company’s dire fortunes following a few big-budget flops.

Much of the film’s budget went to 1999’s “Wild Wild West,” a notorious disaster produced by Peters and featuring a scene where Will Smith fought a giant spider that looked suspiciously like the one conceived for “Superman Lives.”

Burton still hasn’t gotten over it all. Speaking for the doc, Burton says of questions about “Superman Lives,” “Why are you trying to depress me so much? Anyone have any cyanide I can take?”