There's a rich history surrounding DC's
Superman and that includes the unproduced 1990s film
Superman Lives that had Nicolas Cage set to star as the titular Man of Steel. The movie was to be directed by Tim Burton and written by Kevin Smith (Wesley Strick brought in later on to rewrite the script). And while
Superman Lives did enter pre-production, it was canceled by Warner Bros. shortly after.
To this day, the proposed film remains a fascinating area of interest for superhero fans and every now and then we are treated to
unearthed images or
footage from its pre-production days - teasing us with what could have been. On a recent episode of DC Daily, we were given our best look yet at the costume that Nicolas Cage would've donned as the Man of Steel.
It's a beaut.
The costume was unveiled towards the end of the episode and marks the first time the suit has ever left the Warner Archives. You can watch the reveal below (at around the 18:17 mark).
Machinima writer Ray Carsillo also snagged a photo with the suit up close, which you can check out below.
Although Kevin Smith has in the past expressed interest in having his
Superman Lives script turned into an animated film, it's unlikely it'll ever see the light of day. Nicolas Cage has
since moved on from the prospect of playing a live-action Superman, though his dream did partially come true when he was cast as the voice of the Man of Steel in this year's
Teen Titans GO! To The Movies.
For those of you interested in the fascinating history of
Superman Lives, you should check out John Schnepp's 2015 documentary
The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? which chronicles much of the pre-production process.
Update: As many of Comic Book Movie’s fine readers have pointed out, it’s possible this suit may actually be from J.J. Abrams’ Superman: Flyby, another canceled project from 2004. If so, someone at Warner Archives might’ve mislabeled it. Either way, it’s still a cool reveal!