Yo, Lois, we did it! What Happened? Before Richard Donner decided to spend some time developing Christopher Reeve's physical appearance so he was a more impressive fit for Superman, the Salkinds had looked at sportsmen and body-builders like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and they briefly flirted with the idea of casting an actor with a more hulking phsyique in the form of Stallone, who had just scored a major success with Rocky. He wasn't yet the walking bag of muscles that he is now, some forty years later, but Stallone certainly had the size and imposing presence for Superman, which is presumably why he considered himself a strong enough candidate to audition. Stallone was another to lobby hard for the role, and he apparently got close, but he was another of the potential Superman candidates who was allegedly nixed by Marlon Brando, who was living up to his reputation by making his presence felt on the production. At least this time he was right. Would He Have Worked? In Rocky, Stallone had a disarmingly charming demeanour: he was the nice, normal guy who happened to do something brutal for his job, and there is something in that contradiction that might have worked for Superman. But then it's too difficult to imagine Superman as a backstreets tough with a drawling accent, and in the end Stallone just didn't have the regal essence to match the character's needs. Which of these potential Superman candidates do you think would been the biggest disaster? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.
