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Kevin Smith Discusses Writing Scrapped Superman Movie Starring Ben Affleck
Kevin Smith recently appeared on the premiere episode of Yahoo Entertainment's "The Never-Weres" in which he talked at length the failed Superman movie he had written in the late 1990's which would have been based on "The Death of Superman" comic book story arc.
During the discussion, Smith revealed that he had written the script with actor Ben Affleck in mind for the title role and Michael Rooker in the role of Lex Luthor.
"I was writing it for Affleck," stated Smith. "Ben was heating up. Like he was there. I think he'd been hired for 'Armageddon.' Affleck, he's a f***ing giant, like he's built like a superhero, built like a giant action figure, particularly with the height. And then he puts on the muscles there too. So in my head and heart, it was always Ben and Michael Rooker."
Ultimately, producer Jon Peters would clash with Smith over the casting idea of Affleck as the Man of Steel opting for his own desire to have actor Sean Penn cast in the role.
"[Jon Peters] goes, 'Look in [Penn's] eyes in that movie, he's [got] haunted eyes, the eyes of a killer,'" continued Smith. "And I was like, 'Dude, it's Superman. You know, that's not how most people think of Superman'... but he wanted to reinvent it. He wanted something gritty, graphic and grownup. He essentially wanted like what Zack Snyder eventually did [in 'Man of Steel,' 'Batman v Superman’ and 'Justice League,' which coincidentally featured Affleck as Batman opposite Henry Cavill's Superman]."
The project - now known as "Superman Lives" - would eventually be taken over by director Tim Burton who cast actor Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel along with Chris Rock as Jimmy Olsen, Christopher Walken as Brainiac, and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor; a role he did ultimately play in "Superman Returns". Following years of development, however, the film was ultimately cancelled by Warner Bros. only weeks before cameras were set to role.
Affleck would eventually portray the role of Superman in a way when he starred as actor George Reeves in the 2006 neo-noir period drama film "Hollywoodland" which presented a fictionalized account of the circumstances surrounding the 1959 death of the "Adventures of Superman" star.
