12 Ridiculous Castings That Almost Ruined DC Comic Book Movies
4. Sean Penn - Superman Lives
The Role: Superman
Who Was Cast Instead: Nic Cage
What Happened?
When Kevin Smith was scripting Superman Lives, producer Jon Peters infamously told him that he thought Sean Penn should play Superman after seeing his excellent performance in Dead Man Walking. He claimed that Penn had a caged killer instinct that would be perfect for the role, because apparently he had absolutely no idea what Superman was supposed to be.
The Results
Penn is too much of a strange, intense character actor to ever play anyone like Superman: he's not an all-action hero actor by any means, and while Nic Cage was similarly weird casting, Penn's on screen demeanour would have been wildly wrong for Superman.
Sure, he would have been an intriguing Clark Kent, but not suited and booted as Supes.