12 Movie Sequels That Luckily Didn't Happen

Another superhero what-if, Superman Lives (previously Superman Reborn) was a '90s vehicle set to be directed by Tim Burton, written by Kevin Smith, and star Nicolas Cage as the title hero. It was to be a sequel to Batman Returns and the start of a DC film series, as Michael Keaton was also said to be given a cameo for the film.

The film's script was completed and Cage was even confirmed for the role and since around 2009, pictures have surfaced online of the actor in full costume during early screen tests. The film was to follow Superman as he battled Brainiac (played by Christopher Walken), Doomsday and Lex Luther.

Loosely based on the comic "The Death of Superman", the original script also called for the merging of Brainiac and Luther into one super-organism called "Luthiac." Which would have most likely looked as bad as it sounds. Lois Lane would have been portrayed by either Sandra Bullock or Courtney Cox, and at one point Superman was set to fight a giant spider.

All in all, it's probably for the best it was scrapped. Warner Bros couldn't afford to produce it, thanks to the financial losses of Batman and Robin, and a rewrite of the script was met with unfavourable reviews from the company, who decided instead to make Wild Wild West. It makes you wonder, though: How bad did the script have to be for it to be replaced with Wild Wild West?