10 Comic Book Movie Firings That Changed Everything
6. Kevin Smith - Superman Lives
Superman Lives is one of the weirdest and wackiest tales of a movie trapped in development hell. In the year 2000, Kevin Smith was on board to script the comic book film which would relaunch DC's Man of Steel on the big screen. He had several meetings with Warner Bros producer Jon Peters, who had some interesting ideas for the movie. Kevin Smith turned in several drafts of a screenplay, incorporating every barmy idea that Peters threw at him. These included a giant spider for Supes to fight, polar bear security guards and a gay R2-D2 with attitude. He also didnt want Superman to wear his traditional costume, or to fly. Determined not to let the job of a lifetime slip away, Smith kept working on draft after draft. Sadly for Smith, when Tim Burton came on board to direct, he sacked Smith and threw out his draft. I certainly would never read anything written by Kevin Smith, Burton said at a later date. Harsh. Superman Lives never came to pass, with Burtons Superman vision failing to reach cinemas either. J.J. Abrams Superman: Flyby was similarly unsuccessful. Eventually, Warner Bros got Bryan Singers Superman Returns all the way through production. (If you want to learn more about Superman Lives, you could do worse than checking out this excellent documentary.)
