10 Things You Need To Know About Tim Burton's Superman Lives
3. Also, Braniac Had A Gay Robot Sidekick
Oh yeah, Braniac doesn't get let off that easily. Not only would he have been played by Tim Allen, but apparently Jon Peters...yep, that weirdo producer again, who got his start in the movie business because he was Barbara Streisand's hairdresser and allegedly, was also insistent that the main villain of Superman Lives needed a comedy sidekick. And that he would be like a gay R2-D2.
This was right around the time Kevin Smith had been brought on to write a treatment for the film, which involved numerous meetings with Peters. To hear Smith tell it, Peters is a crazy person...
After seeing Smith's film Chasing Amy, the producer took a shine to Dwight Ewell's character - a militant, black, gay, comic book creator. Peters decided they needed something like that in Superman Lives, and asked Smith to write in such a sidekick to Braniac, with Ewell in line to voice the robotic L-Ron.
Oh and after seeing the re-released Star Wars, Peters also insisted on a Chewbacca-style shaggy dog for the pair, too, which could make a great toy.