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If you think you have seen everything from Nicolas Cage, there is something pivotal missing from his glittering and famed career, a scrapped Superman film that could have worked out well in the 1990s.
When Tim Burton took over the Batman franchise and delivered one of the finest films on the caped crusader, it had unlimited potential for WB, which also planned on taking up Superman.
However, numerous attempts at this failed. The most prominent one among these was a project by Tim Burton titled Superman Lives, which would have featured Nicolas Cage in the starring role. It was also supposed to be written by Kevin Smith. However, the project was infamously scrapped, depriving fans of seeing Nic Cage in the red cape.
But that was not the end of it. Thanks to the universe-merging trends of superhero films and advancements in CGI, fans finally got to see Nicolas Cage as Superman in The Flash.
Nicolas Cage was also glad that it happened. In a recent interview with USA Today, Cage said:
"Well, I was glad I didn't blink. For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it's quick. If you really wanted to know what I was going do with that character, look at my performance in “City of Angels.”
He further elaborated on his plans for the role in the interview.
"I was already developing this alien otherness playing this angel" - Nicolas Cage on his Superman Lives preparations
Superman as a franchise struggled more often than not. Fans have usually failed to find an interesting Kal-El since the days of Christopher Reeve. Nic Cage could have changed that, perhaps. Of course, he would later go on to star as a Marvel superhero in Ghost Rider, which failed to get much critical acclaim.
Nicholas Cage, however, was ready to play the part in Superman Lives. He said to USA Today:
"I was supposed (to play) Clark Kent after that (in "Superman Lives"), and I was already developing this alien otherness playing this angel. That is a perfect example of the tonality you would've gotten for Kal-El and for Clark Kent: Clark would've been a little more amusing but Kal-El (had) the sensitivity and the goodness and the vulnerability and all those feelings that were kind of angelic and also terrifying."
Though this never came to fruition, fans did get an unexpected glimpse at the superhero in his brief cameo in The Flash, which also brought together several other DC timelines, including Christopher Reeve's Superman.
The Flash, however, failed to own the box office and received mixed critical responses, despite merging some interesting stories and some great easter eggs. Apart from Superman, The Flash also featured three of the Batman from DC's earlier films, including Michael Keaton and George Clooney.
However, with a complete DC revamp in the plan, these storylines will not move forward.
The Flash is set to arrive on OTT platforms in August 2023. It has already received a digital release and is available for purchase and rent.
