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| Source, This Film has been Through Serious (Development) Hell! |
DC Comics' summer superhero showdown, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was a particularly polarizing popcorn fodder, as it caused a major rift between die-hard fanboys and stern movie critics. While those who bear positive reactions, with many of these highlights including Ben Affleck's and Gal Gadot's performance as Batman and Wonder Woman respectively, the dark tone, and the visual style, those who oppose it dislike Jesse Eisenberg's performance as Lex Luthor, the joyless atmosphere, and of course, the anticlimactic "Martha" scene. But the one thing we can all agree on is that the movie is undeniably overstuffed, from the forced-in cameos of future Justice League members, to Superman's shoehorned death at the hands of Doomsday.
And speaking of Doomsday, this is not the first time DC adapted "The Death of Superman" story arc into a flick, with that honor going to the direct-to-video animated feature, "Superman: Doomsday". Contrary to mainstream belief, DC has tried several times to get the famous comicbook tale to the big screen, and it took rewrites after rewrites of scripts, ranging from bizarre concepts, to sincerely ambitious bits, and writer and director Kevin Smith managed to make one that fits both categories. For the latest axed script offering, Dateline Movies dives headfirst back into Hollywood's vast screenplay trash bin to relive the behind-the-scenes drama of Kevin Smith's infamous Superman Lives.
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| Source, Yep, This is an Actual Behind-The-Scenes Image Taken Before the Film was Scrapped |
How it almost happened?
"[...] He's like 'I got some directives for you. If you're going to move forward on the process, (there are) some things that (Jon Peters) want you to do and don't on the script, is gonna be three things. Ok?'. I said, 'All right'. 'One, I don't want to see him in that suit. Two, I don't want to see him fly. And three, he's gotta fight a giant spider in the third act'. [...]" - Kevin Smith recalling Jon Peters' script requests on their first meeting
Once, not long ago, Warner Bros. Studios dominated the late 70s box office with the release of Superman, which eventually became one of the benchmarks for things to come. This is mainly due to Christopher Reeves' charming portrayal of the one and only Man of Tomorrow. That is until Warner Bros. decided to take the campiness level up to ten with Superman II, when Richard Donner decided to abandon ship after a series of corporate disagreements. That level eventually reached eleven with Superman III, and went over the nine-thousandth mark with Superman IV: The Quest For Peace.
Once, not long ago, Warner Bros. Studios dominated the late 70s box office with the release of Superman, which eventually became one of the benchmarks for things to come. This is mainly due to Christopher Reeves' charming portrayal of the one and only Man of Tomorrow. That is until Warner Bros. decided to take the campiness level up to ten with Superman II, when Richard Donner decided to abandon ship after a series of corporate disagreements. That level eventually reached eleven with Superman III, and went over the nine-thousandth mark with Superman IV: The Quest For Peace.
While Warner Bros. regained momentum with Tim Burton's Batman (with that momentum once more lost after Batman and Robin, and regained again with Batman Begins, and lost again in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice), their string of failures left a staggering blow to their primary cash cow, and eventually, no Superman movie was made again for nearly two decades. However, even if the odds where against them, despite the fact that most of those odds are themselves, Warner Bros. endlessly pursued redemption for the Man of Steel.
Scrapping Superman V, also known as Superman: The New Movie, which we would hopefully cover soon once we find the script, producer Jon Peters managed to retrieve the rights to The Death of Superman story, and recruited Lethal Weapon 4 and Red Planet scribe Jonathan Lemkin as a screenwriter. Lemkin was tasked with making a Superman flick for the family. The result was a bizarre blend of pure camp, and also a bunch of oddities that are just really out-of-this-world to be discussed now.
After telling executives at Warner Bros. Studios the many terrible things that plagued Gregory Poirier's version of Superman Reborn, which will also be hopefully featured in a future post, Kevin Smith was hired to rewrite the script, but his work has to meet three of the previously mentioned rules set by producer Jon Peters. To recap, he wants Superman to have a radically different costume, because it made him give the appearance of an "overgrown boy scout", he wishes for Superman to not fly, and he pleads to have Superman fight a spider-based creature, comparing this to his experience when he first saw King Kong in the big screen, and how it shocked him. (After writing this, I think now I know why most Superman movies these days are turning out not that good). To easily market the movie to children, and to take advantage of the then-upcoming Star Wars twentieth anniversary, Peters also ordered Smith to include a "space dog" (?). In addition to that, the character of L-Ron is later added, who is described as a "gay R2-D2 with an attitude.
With Tim Burton in the director's chair, production was initially set to begin in the summer of 1998.
Eventually, casting decisions have been made final. Below are the most important figures in the making of this film disaster. Note that some characters are listed here, even though there is no confirmed actor to portray them. The cast list also includes those with multiple actors contending for the role.
Producer: Jon Peters
Production Designer: Rick Heinrichs
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood
Art Designer: Sylvain Despretz
Special Effects Department: Industrial Light & Magic
Concept Artist: Rolf Mohr, Michael Anthony Jackson, Pete Von Sholly, et al.
Director's Assistant: Derek Frey
Writers: Kevin Smith; Rewrites by Wesley Strick and Dan Gilroy
Director: Tim Burton
Starring:
What was suppose to happen?
The following story outline is a simplified and shortened version of the leaked script. For more information on the complete story, click here. But, if you are like the rest of the world, and sometimes me, who simply does not have the patience to read lengthy blocks of text, listen to our script review below. (Our third podcast, and yes, like what we did in Inside Jon Spaihts's Alien: Engineers, this one is made with the collaboration of my classmates. Also, in case anyone is wondering, a podcast for Alien: Engineers was being made at the same time when Superman Lives was being tackle, but the review for the script for Superman Lives was finished first, which explains why I said in that this is our "third" podcast.)
Somewhere in space, the megalomaniacal and rogue supercomputer Brainiac, and his right-hand robotic servant, L-Ron, played by Ewell (Chasing Amy), intercept an extraterrestrial ship. With the intention to obtain enough energy to extend his life span a little bit, Brainiac drains the life out of the two aliens on-board the vessel, but while he is in the process of gaining enough energy for himself, he receives a transmission from Lex Luthor of Earth. The message serves as an invitation from Lex to any otherworldly being to come visit Earth for any peaceful means of business, and of course, to deal with a certain, all-powerful Kryptonian that guards his world. Intrigued, Brainiac and L-Ron set a course for Earth.
In Metropolis, Superman, played by Cage (Leaving Las Vegas), saves returning Governor Caitlin Bree and her son, from being kidnapped by Deadshot and his band of mercenaries. After apprehending the assailant and his crew of criminals, Superman discovers, by examining Deadshot's equipment, that LexCorp C.E.O. and founder Lex Luthor hired Deadshot to blackmail the governor into accepting the "Wertham Act", a bill that would have any superhero, specifically Superman, branded as a criminal.
After being humiliated by Lois Lane on live television, due to him insulting Lois and her, unbeknownst to the public, serious relationship with Superman, Lex returns to his office, accompanied by his personal bodyguard and lover, Misty. Stepping into an elevator in his company, Superman greets him in force by nearly pushing the elevator to the top floor of the building, with Superman saying that one day, he will be able to apprehend Lex. He concludes that Lex hired Deadshot to kidnap the governor and make her accept the bill, but due to the only evidence being destroyed unintentionally by Superman's x-ray vision, as the weapon will explode upon any contact from his power's radiation, Lex claims that Superman has no right to threaten him like this.
Once Superman departs, with only a few feet away from oblivion, Lex immediately returns to his office, and is then visited by Brainiac and L-Ron, who offer their services to eliminate Superman. Brainiac becomes enticed with one of Lex's projects, a massive solar power conductor that can generate enough energy for the world to use as a form of electricity. However, Brainiac pointed-out that the weapon, with the station actually a convertible solar blaster, would only make Superman powerful because of a Kryptonian's chemical reaction with yellow sunlight. Brainiac then decided that the best way to kill Superman is to remove the one thing that makes Superman powerful from the picture, the sun.
Lex provides Brainiac the schematics and the needed supplies to upgrade, as well as his own technological advancements, the space station and create a "ShadowCaster". Once the ShadowCaster has been shifted to block out the sunlight, Brainiac launches a missile that generates a large laser net, resulting in sunlight slowly being unable to reach Earth.
On a date with Lois on the top of Mount Rushmore, Superman suddenly begins to feel a little weaker after he nearly fell off a cliff when Superman tried to fly to the rescue of a troubled passenger plane. Returning to Metropolis, the world is plunged into partial darkness, and Lois and Clark are to decide which one of them will cover the news regarding the disappearance of a scientist working on Lex's space power station, which has been linked to the sudden case of an eclipse.
Brainiac then unleashes a relentlessly strong, brutish creature from one of his collections, known as Doomsday. True to his name, the beast is launched into a rocket from Brainiac's skull-shaped space vessel, and upon landing in Metropolis' sewer system, Doomsday causes chaos. Tremors from the violence are heard all over the city, and Superman, fearing for his own safety as much as Lois is concerned, flies to the scene.
Unfortunately for Superman, he is running low on superpowered fuel, and Doomsday mercilessly beats him all across Metropolis. In the midst of the mayhem, Lex makes use of the carnage to give a farewell to Superman, in a typical, villainous sense, as Lex contacts Superman through a signal that can only be received by his super-hearing. With only a mere fraction of his powers remaining, Superman smiles one last time at Lois, and lands a massive punch that creates a sonic boom effect, resulting in the deaths of both combatants.
Lex and Brainiac's master plan comes into fruition, in the aftermath of Superman's public burial, which was also unexpectedly visited in the form of a transmission by the Dark Knight of Gotham himself, Batman, who apologized for not arriving in person due to the growing crime wave in his own city. After reactivating Doomsday's lifeless body, Brainiac disintegrates Doomsday, and with the help of Lex, silently takes over the world, under the guise that Lex and Brainiac, including Superman prior to supposedly dying, are preparing Earth for an invasion orchestrated by Doomsday's kind.
As the world seemingly bends to both Brainiac and Lex's wills, Brainiac's true intentions start to show, as L-Ron and Brainiac seek the aid of the authorities of the world to hunt down a super weapon known as the Eradicator, a device that can take-on a variety of technological forms. In secret, Brainiac is seeking the mechanical construct for the machine to be used as a new host body for him.
Meanwhile, back at the Fortress of Solitude, the Eradicator comes to life, revealing that he was the ship that brought Superman to Earth all along. In the aftermath of the battle between Superman and Doomsday, the Eradicator searched for Superman's dead body, and upon discovering that his tomb is complete with security sensors, ensuring that no one would dare to retrieve the carcass, the Eradicator manages to teleport Superman safely back to the Fortress, without being detected.
Superman, in an incorporeal state of being, travels to the afterlife, where the Man of Steel learns a thing or two with regards to Brainiac's true nature. Here, the Last Son of Krypton discovers, through a ghost-like version of Jor-El, Superman's biological father, that Brainiac, who was a Kryptonian computer system, was responsible for the destruction of Krypton, as the supercomputer absorbed every last bit of natural energy from the planet. During this time, Jor-El created the medical unit known as the Eradicator, which was designed to keep Superman safe. The machine monitors Superman's vitals, and in a time when the one he is protecting is in dire need, the Eradicator will be activated.
Brainiac sees this as a means to make himself much more powerful, and as such, he managed to absorb Krypton's core, rendering it unstable. With no other choice, Jor-El decided that it is best to vacate Superman from Krypton to Earth, with the Eradicator, so as to keep the device's many and helpful capabilities away from Brainiac's cold, metallic hands.
Superman, after his brief experience in the afterlife, returns from the dead, and awakens inside a green gelatinous construct. After being briefly terrified, and after being calmed down by the Eradicator, who explained the situation, the two decided to team-up and stop Brainiac from doing the same thing to Earth, and they can start by escaping to another planet that is close to the sun, for Superman to regain his powers once more. The Eradicator also argues that the humans are a lost cause.
Back in the now-technologically cluttered Metropolis, Lois Lane, with photographer Jimmy Olsen, played by Rock (Top Five), infiltrate LexCorp, under the guise of a typical interview, in order to make known, Lex and Brainiac's ulterior motives. Lois knocks Lex out with a serum provided by Prof. Emil Hamilton, and as they skim through Lex's files, they discover that Brainiac and Lex's claims that an intergalactic armada is heading straight towards Earth, and that Superman was working with the two villains, are indeed false. In addition to the revelation that both Brainiac and Lex are planning to betray one another, they learn that the spaceships seen in their night sky are mere holographic projections. As Lex wakes-up, Lois and Jimmy are pursued tirelessly by Lex's private army, escaping in the process through a LexCorp helicopter.
Brainiac and L-Ron traces the Eradicator's energy signature to the Fortress of Solitude, where Brainaic enters a brief confrontation between two polar bears guarding Superman's secret base of operations (Yes, everything I said appeared in the actual script). As Brainiac, L-Ron and the rest of the United Nations forces raid the Fortress of Solitude, Brainiac becomes weaker, noting that his energy supply is running out rapidly, unless they find the Eradicator at once in order to keep his fuel systems up and running. Brainiac is then forced to retreat to his skull ship.
In space, Superman and the Eradicator finally decide to try and destroy the orbit of the ShadowCaster, with the Eradicator transforming into a battle suit for Superman that mimics his currently unavailable powers, as his process of revival cost him temporarily his unique abilities, until a mysterious signal causes the Eradicator to malfunction, and inevitably, the ship that the two are riding crashes in Coast City, which is about a few miles away from Metropolis. While there, Superman, in his Eradicator-made armor, saves a family from a burning building, with a local police chief asking who he is, with Superman simply saying that he is back. With the Eradicator motivated to help out the world, after he learns that Superman is saving the world for one woman, namely Lois Lane, Superman and the Eradicator deactivate their cloaking mechanisms, so as to attract Brainiac's attention.
With enough evidence to hold Lex, Brainiac, L-Ron, and Misty accountable, Lois hacks Metropolis' communication systems, and sends a broadcast to all of the citizens, asking them to raise up their arms against their real foes, and for their supposedly fallen Superman. As Jimmy shuts down the power to the LexCorp Tower in order to turn-off the massive holographic projector, causing all of the other citizens to spark an uprising, Jimmy is nearly killed by LexCorp security when he falls from the tower, until Superman saves him. Jimmy then gives Superman a disk containing all of Lex's secret crimes.
As the angry mob surrounds LexCorp Tower, Lex blackmails Brainiac, who is planning to kill him, into sparing him, in exchange for access to the Earth's core, which Brainiac is depending on for energy. With enough power, and after some debate with L-Ron, who insists that Brainiac should focus on Superman and the Eradicator approaching their way, Brainiac steps into battle. Brainiac blasts the nearby Metropolis Bridge, forcing Superman to respond to the citizens' needs. Afterwards, Brainiac sends an "anti-technology" pulse to shut down the Eradicator, but the Eradicator managed to repel the signal's power. During the battle, Lois recognizes their new, enigmatic hero to be a revived Superman, who is then hit with a powerful blast from Brainiac's skull ship.
Puzzled, Lois proceeds to find Superman's tomb empty, and is then captured by Brainiac and L-Ron, with Lois being being held hostage by the megalomaniacs, with Brainiac unleashing the Thanagarian Snare Beast, an unholy, spider-like monster that was retrieved by Brainiac and L-Ron from the alien spaceship that they found earlier. Overpowered, the Eradicator sacrifices himself to destroy the ShadowCaster, and as a result, Superman gained enough strength to fight Brainiac, who has now taken control of the Thanagarian Snare Beat through the use of his consciousness. In the end, Superman slays the monster, forcing Brainiac to experience severe telepathic pain from the creature's demise. Paralyzed with excruciating pain, Superman lays the killing blow on Brainiac.
With the world safe from Brainiac's clutches, Lex and Misty are thrown in jail by Superman thanks to Jimmy's disk, and Superman and Lois are able to continue their budding romance. The film ends with L-Ron, while breaking the fourth wall, picking-up Brainiac's remains in his master's Skull Ship.
What happened instead?
"The studio was happy with what I was doing. Then Tim Burton got involved, and when he signed his pay-or-play deal, he turned around and said (that) he wanted to do his version of Superman. So who is Warner Bros. going back to? The guy who made Clerks, or the guy who made them half a billion dollars with Batman." - Kevin Smith on creative differences between him and Tim Burton
With the script complete, now under the title of "Superman Lives", as he sees this as a much more fitting title than "Superman Reborn", Smith eyed Ben Affleck, Jack Nicholson, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Linda Fiorentino, Famke Janssen, John Mahoney and David Hyde Pierce as Superman, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Mercy Graves (named Misty in his script), Perry White, and the Eradicator, respectively. Smith originally wanted Spy Kids director Robert Rodriguez to helm the project, but due to scheduling conflicts with his at-the-time in-production film, The Faculty, despite expressing enthusiasm, Rodriguez had to pass the offer. The director's chair eventually went to Tim Burton, as suggested by Smith, who accepted the offer. During this time, Nicolas Cage and Chris Rock were cast as Superman and Jimmy Olsen, respectively, while Kevin Spacey was being offered the role of Lex Luthor, Jim Carrey, Christopher Walken, and Gary Oldman were opted for Brainiac, Julianne Moore, Sandra Bullock and Courteney Cox were choices for Lois Lane, and Michael Keaton was confirmed in an unnamed role.
"I basically wasted a year. A year is a long time to be working with somebody that you don't really want to be working with." - Tim Burton's parting words after quitting the project
After telling executives at Warner Bros. Studios the many terrible things that plagued Gregory Poirier's version of Superman Reborn, which will also be hopefully featured in a future post, Kevin Smith was hired to rewrite the script, but his work has to meet three of the previously mentioned rules set by producer Jon Peters. To recap, he wants Superman to have a radically different costume, because it made him give the appearance of an "overgrown boy scout", he wishes for Superman to not fly, and he pleads to have Superman fight a spider-based creature, comparing this to his experience when he first saw King Kong in the big screen, and how it shocked him. (After writing this, I think now I know why most Superman movies these days are turning out not that good). To easily market the movie to children, and to take advantage of the then-upcoming Star Wars twentieth anniversary, Peters also ordered Smith to include a "space dog" (?). In addition to that, the character of L-Ron is later added, who is described as a "gay R2-D2 with an attitude.
With Tim Burton in the director's chair, production was initially set to begin in the summer of 1998.
Eventually, casting decisions have been made final. Below are the most important figures in the making of this film disaster. Note that some characters are listed here, even though there is no confirmed actor to portray them. The cast list also includes those with multiple actors contending for the role.
 |
| Source, Concept Art for Superman's Alternate Costume |
Production Designer: Rick Heinrichs
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood
Art Designer: Sylvain Despretz
Special Effects Department: Industrial Light & Magic
Concept Artist: Rolf Mohr, Michael Anthony Jackson, Pete Von Sholly, et al.
Director's Assistant: Derek Frey
Writers: Kevin Smith; Rewrites by Wesley Strick and Dan Gilroy
Director: Tim Burton
Starring:
- Nicolas Cage as Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman
- "Unknown" as Lois Lane
- "Unknown" as Lex Luthor
- "Unknown" as Brainiac
- "Unknown" as The Eradicator
- Dwight Ewell as L-Ron
- Chris Rock as Jimmy Olsen
- "Unknown" as Jor-El
- Michael Keaton as "Unknown"
- "Unknown" as Floyd Lawton / Deadshot
- "Unknown" as Perry White
- "Unknown" as Cat Grant
- "Unknown" as Governor Caitlin Bree
- "Unknown" as Misty
- "Unknown" as Bruce Wayne / Batman
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| Source, Concept Artwork Featuring Superman's On-Screen Costume |
The following story outline is a simplified and shortened version of the leaked script. For more information on the complete story, click here. But, if you are like the rest of the world, and sometimes me, who simply does not have the patience to read lengthy blocks of text, listen to our script review below. (Our third podcast, and yes, like what we did in Inside Jon Spaihts's Alien: Engineers, this one is made with the collaboration of my classmates. Also, in case anyone is wondering, a podcast for Alien: Engineers was being made at the same time when Superman Lives was being tackle, but the review for the script for Superman Lives was finished first, which explains why I said in that this is our "third" podcast.)
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| Source, "It's a Bird. It's a Plane. It's Super-Cage!" |
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| Source, Concept Art For Brainiac |
Once Superman departs, with only a few feet away from oblivion, Lex immediately returns to his office, and is then visited by Brainiac and L-Ron, who offer their services to eliminate Superman. Brainiac becomes enticed with one of Lex's projects, a massive solar power conductor that can generate enough energy for the world to use as a form of electricity. However, Brainiac pointed-out that the weapon, with the station actually a convertible solar blaster, would only make Superman powerful because of a Kryptonian's chemical reaction with yellow sunlight. Brainiac then decided that the best way to kill Superman is to remove the one thing that makes Superman powerful from the picture, the sun.
Lex provides Brainiac the schematics and the needed supplies to upgrade, as well as his own technological advancements, the space station and create a "ShadowCaster". Once the ShadowCaster has been shifted to block out the sunlight, Brainiac launches a missile that generates a large laser net, resulting in sunlight slowly being unable to reach Earth.
 |
| Source, Doomsday is Here! |
Brainiac then unleashes a relentlessly strong, brutish creature from one of his collections, known as Doomsday. True to his name, the beast is launched into a rocket from Brainiac's skull-shaped space vessel, and upon landing in Metropolis' sewer system, Doomsday causes chaos. Tremors from the violence are heard all over the city, and Superman, fearing for his own safety as much as Lois is concerned, flies to the scene.
 |
| Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6, The Making of Superman's Costume |
Lex and Brainiac's master plan comes into fruition, in the aftermath of Superman's public burial, which was also unexpectedly visited in the form of a transmission by the Dark Knight of Gotham himself, Batman, who apologized for not arriving in person due to the growing crime wave in his own city. After reactivating Doomsday's lifeless body, Brainiac disintegrates Doomsday, and with the help of Lex, silently takes over the world, under the guise that Lex and Brainiac, including Superman prior to supposedly dying, are preparing Earth for an invasion orchestrated by Doomsday's kind.
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| Source, Concept Artwork Featuring the Eradicator (Known as "K" in Subsequent Rewrites) |
Meanwhile, back at the Fortress of Solitude, the Eradicator comes to life, revealing that he was the ship that brought Superman to Earth all along. In the aftermath of the battle between Superman and Doomsday, the Eradicator searched for Superman's dead body, and upon discovering that his tomb is complete with security sensors, ensuring that no one would dare to retrieve the carcass, the Eradicator manages to teleport Superman safely back to the Fortress, without being detected.
 | ||
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Brainiac sees this as a means to make himself much more powerful, and as such, he managed to absorb Krypton's core, rendering it unstable. With no other choice, Jor-El decided that it is best to vacate Superman from Krypton to Earth, with the Eradicator, so as to keep the device's many and helpful capabilities away from Brainiac's cold, metallic hands.
Superman, after his brief experience in the afterlife, returns from the dead, and awakens inside a green gelatinous construct. After being briefly terrified, and after being calmed down by the Eradicator, who explained the situation, the two decided to team-up and stop Brainiac from doing the same thing to Earth, and they can start by escaping to another planet that is close to the sun, for Superman to regain his powers once more. The Eradicator also argues that the humans are a lost cause.
Back in the now-technologically cluttered Metropolis, Lois Lane, with photographer Jimmy Olsen, played by Rock (Top Five), infiltrate LexCorp, under the guise of a typical interview, in order to make known, Lex and Brainiac's ulterior motives. Lois knocks Lex out with a serum provided by Prof. Emil Hamilton, and as they skim through Lex's files, they discover that Brainiac and Lex's claims that an intergalactic armada is heading straight towards Earth, and that Superman was working with the two villains, are indeed false. In addition to the revelation that both Brainiac and Lex are planning to betray one another, they learn that the spaceships seen in their night sky are mere holographic projections. As Lex wakes-up, Lois and Jimmy are pursued tirelessly by Lex's private army, escaping in the process through a LexCorp helicopter.
 |
| Source, Sketches of the Many Outfits of the Man of Tomorrow |
In space, Superman and the Eradicator finally decide to try and destroy the orbit of the ShadowCaster, with the Eradicator transforming into a battle suit for Superman that mimics his currently unavailable powers, as his process of revival cost him temporarily his unique abilities, until a mysterious signal causes the Eradicator to malfunction, and inevitably, the ship that the two are riding crashes in Coast City, which is about a few miles away from Metropolis. While there, Superman, in his Eradicator-made armor, saves a family from a burning building, with a local police chief asking who he is, with Superman simply saying that he is back. With the Eradicator motivated to help out the world, after he learns that Superman is saving the world for one woman, namely Lois Lane, Superman and the Eradicator deactivate their cloaking mechanisms, so as to attract Brainiac's attention.
 |
| Source, An Image Featuring Jon Peters' Highly Requested Giant Spider |
As the angry mob surrounds LexCorp Tower, Lex blackmails Brainiac, who is planning to kill him, into sparing him, in exchange for access to the Earth's core, which Brainiac is depending on for energy. With enough power, and after some debate with L-Ron, who insists that Brainiac should focus on Superman and the Eradicator approaching their way, Brainiac steps into battle. Brainiac blasts the nearby Metropolis Bridge, forcing Superman to respond to the citizens' needs. Afterwards, Brainiac sends an "anti-technology" pulse to shut down the Eradicator, but the Eradicator managed to repel the signal's power. During the battle, Lois recognizes their new, enigmatic hero to be a revived Superman, who is then hit with a powerful blast from Brainiac's skull ship.
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| Source, More Wardrobe Images! |
With the world safe from Brainiac's clutches, Lex and Misty are thrown in jail by Superman thanks to Jimmy's disk, and Superman and Lois are able to continue their budding romance. The film ends with L-Ron, while breaking the fourth wall, picking-up Brainiac's remains in his master's Skull Ship.
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| Source, Writer and Director Kevin Smith |
"The studio was happy with what I was doing. Then Tim Burton got involved, and when he signed his pay-or-play deal, he turned around and said (that) he wanted to do his version of Superman. So who is Warner Bros. going back to? The guy who made Clerks, or the guy who made them half a billion dollars with Batman." - Kevin Smith on creative differences between him and Tim Burton
With the script complete, now under the title of "Superman Lives", as he sees this as a much more fitting title than "Superman Reborn", Smith eyed Ben Affleck, Jack Nicholson, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Linda Fiorentino, Famke Janssen, John Mahoney and David Hyde Pierce as Superman, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Mercy Graves (named Misty in his script), Perry White, and the Eradicator, respectively. Smith originally wanted Spy Kids director Robert Rodriguez to helm the project, but due to scheduling conflicts with his at-the-time in-production film, The Faculty, despite expressing enthusiasm, Rodriguez had to pass the offer. The director's chair eventually went to Tim Burton, as suggested by Smith, who accepted the offer. During this time, Nicolas Cage and Chris Rock were cast as Superman and Jimmy Olsen, respectively, while Kevin Spacey was being offered the role of Lex Luthor, Jim Carrey, Christopher Walken, and Gary Oldman were opted for Brainiac, Julianne Moore, Sandra Bullock and Courteney Cox were choices for Lois Lane, and Michael Keaton was confirmed in an unnamed role.
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| Source, Director Tim Burton Attending Niciolas Cage's Costume Fitting |
Unfortunately for Smith, Burton being a part of the project spelled his eventual dismissal, as Cape Fear and Arachnophobia scribe Wesley Strick was later hired to rewrite the screenplay after Burton disliked Smith's work. Aside from criticizing the Eradicator for taking much of the spotlight, rather than the titular Last Son of Krypton, Strick disliked the script's overall premise, comparing the concept of launching an interplanetary disk to prevent sunlight from reaching Earth unfavorably to The Simpsons two-part special, "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", as the episodes also contained a similar plot element. Although, Strick would then grasp the bigger picture behind Smith's teleplay, after taking a look at the pages The Death of Superman.
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After Peters adds more ways to attract the young demographic's attention, and with already thirty million dollars wasted, the award-winning writer and director of the crime drama flick Nightcrawler, Dan Gilroy was hired to rewrite a much more economically balanced film. At this point, Tim Burton dropped-out due to disagreements between him and the studio executives, including Peters. In addition to Gilroy's output, screenwriting aspirant Alex Ford, dismayed at the lack of development, pitched a seven-installment film series, starting with the first flick titled "Superman: Man of Steel". That did not do any better, in case you are wondering.
After even more other proposals from comicbook writer Keith Giffen, Donnie Brasco writer Paul Attanasio, and William Wisher Jr., with Nicolas Cage parting ways, and Will Smith nearly becoming Superman (Yes, seriously), the project is canceled. Two more attempts at reinvigorating Superman's film series, including an earlier attempt at a crossover movie featuring both Batman and Superman fighting each other, and a heavily different J.J. Abrams-headed film titled "Superman: Flyby", failed to take flight.
A few years after Superman Lives was officially axed, a semi-reboot to the Christopher Reeve-starred franchise, "Superman Returns", was released on June 28, 2006, with Brandon Routh of current Arrow stardom donning the red-and-blue tights of the Man of Steel, with Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, Frank Langella as Perry White, Sam Huntington as Jimmy Olsen, Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, and director Bryan Singer as the director of the movie. The movie received a mixed-to-positive reception, with praise aimed at the performances, and theatrical style, while much of the criticism pointed at the story and its long run time, although some enjoyed the plot.
"Like we really need him to bust-up a mechanical spider? Lame!" - Kevin Smith's single line in Superman: Doomsday
The following year, the story of The Death of Superman was revisited, and this time, it was a finished, animated straight-to-video feature called "Superman: Doomsday". Directed by veteran DC Animation contributors Bruce Timm, Lauren Montgomery and Brandon Vietti. Superman: Doomsday features the voice talents of Adam Baldwin as Superman, James Marsters as Lex Luthor, Ray Wise as Perry White, Adam Wylie as Jimmy Olsen, Anne Heche as Lois Lane, and Tom Kenny as The Robot, a character inspired by Kevin Smith's version of the Eradicator. This movie also features a cameo appearance by Smith himself, as part of an in-joke, wherein Smith references his dissatisfaction with the addition of a spider-like monster in his original script. Superman: Doomsday received mostly favorable responses, with many citing the animation, the action scenes, and the performances of Baldwin and Marsters as highlights, and the performance of Heche, and the lack of Doomsday, who appeared in the movie for only three minutes or so, in a movie that has the character's name as a subtitle, being referred to as the downsides.
The following year, the story of The Death of Superman was revisited, and this time, it was a finished, animated straight-to-video feature called "Superman: Doomsday". Directed by veteran DC Animation contributors Bruce Timm, Lauren Montgomery and Brandon Vietti. Superman: Doomsday features the voice talents of Adam Baldwin as Superman, James Marsters as Lex Luthor, Ray Wise as Perry White, Adam Wylie as Jimmy Olsen, Anne Heche as Lois Lane, and Tom Kenny as The Robot, a character inspired by Kevin Smith's version of the Eradicator. This movie also features a cameo appearance by Smith himself, as part of an in-joke, wherein Smith references his dissatisfaction with the addition of a spider-like monster in his original script. Superman: Doomsday received mostly favorable responses, with many citing the animation, the action scenes, and the performances of Baldwin and Marsters as highlights, and the performance of Heche, and the lack of Doomsday, who appeared in the movie for only three minutes or so, in a movie that has the character's name as a subtitle, being referred to as the downsides.
Due to the critical acclaim garnered from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy's darker take on the superhero genre, and due to the commercial disappointments of both Superman Returns and the box office train wreck Green Lantern, which was a failed attempt at making a shared universe to rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Warner Bros. opted for a full reboot to the hero. As such, Man of Steel was produced, with Zack Snyder as director, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Diane Keaton as Martha Kent, and Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and is executive produced by Christopher Nolan. Man of Steel received mixed-to-positive reviews, with many highlighting Hans Zimmer's score and Zack Snyder's visual style, and with some criticizing the thinly-written characterization, and running time.
The events surrounding Superman Lives' cancellation was covered in Jon Schnepp's Kickstarter-funded documentary, The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?, wherein Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, Jon Peters, Wesley Strick, Dan Gilroy and many more involved in the abandoned film's failed development were interviewed. The movie earned critical acclaim, praising the interesting angles the documentary provided.
With Man of Steel made as the launching pad for the DC Extended Universe, a sequel slash crossover installment was made in the form of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, with Snyder returning as the director, and Cavill, Adams, Keaton, Costner and Fishburne reprising their respective roles. The movie once more made use of The Death of Superman as basis for the story. This film also marked the on-screen debut of this franchise's versions of Batman, played by Ben Affleck, Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Lex Luthor, played by Jesse Eisenberg, the Flash, played by Ezra Miller, Cyborg, played by Ray Fisher, and Aquaman, played by Jason Momoa. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice attracted mixed-to-negative reviews.
Both Kevin Smith and Tim Burton continue to find success in their later works, with Burton recently directing this year's adaptation of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Home for Peculiar Children, and Smith directing various episodes of the superhero shows The Flash and Arrow, with Smith slated to direct an upcoming Supergirl episode called "Supergirl Lives", a reference to his original work. On a related note, Smith has stated that he is interested in seeing Superman Lives being adapted into an animated feature, similar to Superman: Doomsday.
Also, Nicolas Cage, being a fan of Superman, has a son now named Kal-El Cage, who was born a few years after Superman Lives was cancelled.
Well that was hectic. This is where we finally conclude our latest account of our trip inside the trash bin. After this, and some other incomplete posts simply awaiting completion in our list of drafts, I might as well take a break from these kinds of posts. Also, remember when I said that the two recent podcasts served as my school projects? Well, I never got to use them, or finish them at the required time, sadly, due to scheduling conflicts. So much for extra credit, I guess. With that, I will leave this Honest Trailer of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, from Screen Junkies. Trust us, it is funny! I actually wanted to put Max Landis' insight on the comicbook story itself, but it is just lengthy, but not as lengthy as this post. Stay tuned for more Dateline Movies!
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| Source |
Well that was hectic. This is where we finally conclude our latest account of our trip inside the trash bin. After this, and some other incomplete posts simply awaiting completion in our list of drafts, I might as well take a break from these kinds of posts. Also, remember when I said that the two recent podcasts served as my school projects? Well, I never got to use them, or finish them at the required time, sadly, due to scheduling conflicts. So much for extra credit, I guess. With that, I will leave this Honest Trailer of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, from Screen Junkies. Trust us, it is funny! I actually wanted to put Max Landis' insight on the comicbook story itself, but it is just lengthy, but not as lengthy as this post. Stay tuned for more Dateline Movies!
Source
DISCLAIMER: Superman and all other related elements are properties of DC Comics, with the character Superman originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the film Superman Lives a property of Warner Bros. Studios and its story elements originally written by Kevin Smith. This post is strictly for entertainment and informational purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.
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