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Chris Rock Talks Jimmy Olsen Casting in "Superman Lives"
Actor Chris Rock recently participated in the latest Hollywood Reporter roundtable discussion alongside John Boyega ("Small Axe"), Regé-Jean Page ("Bridgerton"), Josh O'Connor ("The Crown") and Jonathan Majors ("Lovecraft Country").
During the course of the discussion, Rock surprised everyone when he brought up the fact that he had once been cast in the role of Jimmy Olsen in director Tim Burton's failed "Superman Lives" film which would have starred Nicholas Cage in the lead role as the Man of Steel.
"I was cast in Superman 20 years ago, when Nic Cage was going to play Superman," stated Rock. "I was cast; I had wardrobe fittings. I saw the miniature sets, and I was hanging out with [director] Tim [Burton], and the whole thing fell apart."
Following years of development, the film was ultimately cancelled by Warner Bros. only weeks before cameras were set to role. In addition to Rock as Jimmy Olsen and Cage as Superman, Christopher Walken was attached to play Brainiac while Kevin Spacey would have starred as Lex Luthor; a role he did ultimately play in "Superman Returns".
Rock added that while he doesn't have any interest in the character of Jimmy Olsen now, "There's a part of me that's like, where's my superhero movie? I was this close."
