Nicolas Cage firmly believes that Tim Burton’s Superman Lives would have been “something really special.”
The actor was slated to portray the Man of Steel in the Beetlejuice director’s big-screen adaptation of the iconic comic book character. However, budgetary concerns ultimately derailed the project before it even came to fruition.
Nicolas Cage recently stated Burton’s Superman Lives would have been a very memorable motion picture. Powered by a script from Kevin Smith, the actor believes the project possessed “the win-win situation.” Cage also described Superman as “one of the most precious icons” in the United States.
“The fact that Tim and I were pretty far down the road designing [‘Superman Lives’], and I know that with Tim and where I was going to go, we would have done something really special,” he told MTV News .
He added, “At least it’s out there in the ether that that could have happened, but we don’t have to make the movie. It’s still interesting to people.”
Filmmaker Jon Schnepp put together a Kickstarter campaign last year for a documentary centered around Nicolas Cage and Tim Burton’s failed superman project. The Death of ‘Superman Lives’: What Happened? overshot its goal by $17,000.
Pictures of Nicolas Cage sporting a Superman suit surfaced online last year as well. Although images of a costume had previously made the rounds online, this was the first time fans had a chance to see the actor dressed up like the superhero.
A video featuring a redesigned Superman outfit was uploaded by Steve Johnson FX back in December of 2010. The footage showed a drastically different take on the Man of Steel’s costume. Instead of those familiar red and blue tights, Superman’s outfit contained an array of flickering lights. The clip has been embedded below.
Nicolas Cage is currently making the promotional rounds for the DreamWorks animated comedy The Croods . Although the Ghost Rider star wasn’t interested in playing an ogre in Shrek , he apparently didn’t have a problem tackling the role of a caveman.
“What really got me about Grug is his emotional transformation from an overprotective father who is surviving but not living and then he learns how to let go and live and I like that. That’s what appealed to me most. I like a movie that can make you laugh and make you cry,” Cage said of his decision to sign on for the project.
Are you a fan of Nicolas Cage? Do you think Kevin Smith and Tim Burton’s Superman Lives would have been something special?
[Top Image via LaCameraChiara / Shutterstock.com ]