10 Things You Need To Know About Tim Burton's Superman Lives
You would have believed Nic Cage could fly. Tim Allen, less so.
If it seemed like the Dark Knight was a poisoned chalice for a good decade or so after Joel Schumacher drove him into the ground with the camp-tastic Batman & Robin, spare a thought for the Man Of Tomorrow. There were eight years separating that monstrosity and Christopher Nolan's rebooted Batman Begins €and there are nearly twenty years between Superman IV: The (inexplicably low-budget) Quest For Peace and Bryan Singer's Superman Returns.
Not that there weren't attempts to get Clark Kent back off the ground in the meantime. In fact, once Burton had been shunted off of Batman in favour of Schumacher (abandoning plans for an end to his own trilogy), Warner Bros placated him with a pay-or-play deal on a Superman movie. Which meant even if it didn't get made, he'd still be paid.
Superman Lives, or Superman Reborn, or whatever you want to call it, was obviously never made. Which is a great shame, because it sounded absolutely insane. You want to see the Man Of Steel wrestling with polar bears for no real reason? You got it. The most bonkers casting of Superman ever? Sure thing? A gay R2-D2? Apparently that was in the mix.
Of all the late, great unmade superhero films, this one has to be up there if not as the most missed opportunity, then at least the most straight-up bonkers.
Here are ten things you need to know about Tim Burton's Superman...