Superman Lives (1998) - The Tim Burton Superman film that never was. - Blu-ray Forum

Lincoln6Echo · 11-16-2015, 04:09 PM

Well, I'll bet you're thinking, "Wuh? Huh?" Yes, I bet most of you all were not aware of the Superman film that Tim Burton was working on in the late '90s that was supposed to be released in July 1998. Well, there's a 1.5 hr Documentary airing on HBO right now, (it's got a 2015 release date) that talks with Burton and several other people who worked on the film, including comic guy Kevin Smith, who apparently worked on the script, and shows old video tape of pre-production activities, of the Superman film that original Batman (1989) creator was working on.

It was going to star Nick Cage as Superman with long black hair in a fairly decent looking shiny blue muscle suit. (Google search "Nick Cage as Superman pics" for more examples). '90s Superman in the Comics had long flowing black hair.

The villain was going to be Brainiac in the form of a Spider like creature with a skull-like "brain pod" driving the legs. He was also going to have a large Skull space ship that he escaped from Kypton on, that also housed all these strange Kryptonian monsters that were going to crash land on Earth as a sort of invasion force, (a bit like the Supergirl series plot.). Lex Corp was going to also be in the film housed in that castle-topped looking building in Pittsburgh, as seen here.

What ultimately killed the film was a series of Box Office Bombs from WB like "Steel" with Shaq, and many others. Another reason is that its budget was HUGE...even for today's standards...estimated to be over $300 Million in 1998 $$s. And the the third reason was that WB wasn't willing to risk that much money for a Superman film with Tim Burton and Nick Cage as Superman. Also coming off what even according to WB how Schumacher ruined Burton's Batman franchise, they just weren't ready to risk the capital on a hugely expensive comic book film. It was literally canceled just days before it was to begin production. Pre-production was complete.

But had it been made, it would probably would've been talked about just as much as Batman (1989) was and is when it comes to modern comic book hero films. They had huge ambitions and the film probably would have been a classic, but it was killed because WB had cold feet. Ironically, its budget went to the Will Smith 1998 flop "Wild Wild West." And if you remember that film, there was this big robotic spider in it at the end. Some say that this stemmed from the Brainiac design from this Superman Lives film.

Indiana Jones · 11-16-2015, 04:11 PM

dvdmike · 11-16-2015, 04:14 PM

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=263891

11-16-2015, 04:09 PM	#1
Lincoln6Echo Special Member Top contributor Member since:Sep 2009 Home Theater Gallery:4 4K collection:312 Blu-ray collection:1517 DVD collection:8 Blu-ray reviews: 25	Superman Lives (1998) - The Tim Burton Superman film that never was. Well, I'll bet you're thinking, "Wuh? Huh?" Yes, I bet most of you all were not aware of the Superman film that Tim Burton was working on in the late '90s that was supposed to be released in July 1998. Well, there's a 1.5 hr Documentary airing on HBO right now, (it's got a 2015 release date) that talks with Burton and several other people who worked on the film, including comic guy Kevin Smith, who apparently worked on the script, and shows old video tape of pre-production activities, of the Superman film that original Batman (1989) creator was working on. It was going to star Nick Cage as Superman with long black hair in a fairly decent looking shiny blue muscle suit. (Google search "Nick Cage as Superman pics" for more examples). '90s Superman in the Comics had long flowing black hair. The villain was going to be Brainiac in the form of a Spider like creature with a skull-like "brain pod" driving the legs. He was also going to have a large Skull space ship that he escaped from Kypton on, that also housed all these strange Kryptonian monsters that were going to crash land on Earth as a sort of invasion force, (a bit like the Supergirl series plot.). Lex Corp was going to also be in the film housed in that castle-topped looking building in Pittsburgh, as seen here. What ultimately killed the film was a series of Box Office Bombs from WB like "Steel" with Shaq, and many others. Another reason is that its budget was HUGE...even for today's standards...estimated to be over $300 Million in 1998 $$s. And the the third reason was that WB wasn't willing to risk that much money for a Superman film with Tim Burton and Nick Cage as Superman. Also coming off what even according to WB how Schumacher ruined Burton's Batman franchise, they just weren't ready to risk the capital on a hugely expensive comic book film. It was literally canceled just days before it was to begin production. Pre-production was complete. But had it been made, it would probably would've been talked about just as much as Batman (1989) was and is when it comes to modern comic book hero films. They had huge ambitions and the film probably would have been a classic, but it was killed because WB had cold feet. Ironically, its budget went to the Will Smith 1998 flop "Wild Wild West." And if you remember that film, there was this big robotic spider in it at the end. Some say that this stemmed from the Brainiac design from this Superman Lives film.

11-16-2015, 04:14 PM	#3
dvdmike Banned Member since:Jun 2010 Blu-ray collection:1069	https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=263891

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