What If...Kevin Smith's Superman Movie Got Made

9. Nicolas Cage Is Superman

Nicolas Cage Superman
Warner Bros.

Though Kevin Smith's first choice was, unsurprisingly, Ben Affleck,Burton's version asked forNicolas Cage as Clark Kent/Superman. Cage is a comic book fan, and as a result we like to think he would have brought the necessary grit and steeliness to the role, even if he seems like the total opposite of everyone else who has played Superman.

Like Burton, Cage ended up signing a pay or play contract, but his was for a stonking $20m. Cage hoped to re-invent the character, and Burton reportedly hoped that Cage would be the first instance where Clark Kent and Superman actually looked notably different, doing away with that decades-old leap in logic that we have to just buy into.

Tired of waiting around, Cage quit the filmin June 2000, while Peters, ever the pioneer, offered the role to Will Smith, who balked at the idea of how the public wouldperceivea black Superman.

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