15 Strangest Movie Casting Rumours That Thankfully Never Happened

12. Nicolas Cage As Superman

No, Nic Cage wasn't in the running for Man Of Steel, or even the lukewarmly received Superman Returns, but back in the crazy days of the 1990's, he was all set to don some tights and a cape to revive the franchise that had petered out with the low budget Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. Comic book nerd Kevin Smith had penned a script called Superman Lives and Tim Burton - fresh of bringing Batman back to the big screen - was all set to direct with Kevin Spacey sounded out to play Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor. Cage presumably couldn't wait to star - he's such a big Superman freak that he named his son Kal El - but it never happened due to a combination of delays and unwanted studio meddling. Burton, Smith and Cage all left to pursue other projects (Cage consoled himself by buying a dinosaur skull and appearing in literally any script he glanced at) and Superman didn't return to the screen until 2006 with a much more low-key star in Brandon Routh. Spacey did still take the role of Luthor in that movie, and it's easy to imagine that Superman Lives, had it happened, would have become nothing but a big budget Cage v. Spacey scenery-chewing contest. You never know, it might well have ended up sinking the franchise.