Was Nicolas Cage Ever Superman? We Explain the Cameo in ‘The Flash’

He was far from the most important character in the movie, but Nicolas Cage appeared in ‘The Flash’ as a long-haired version of the Last Son of Krypton. In that regard, it was clear that Cage was Superman, albeit an alternate version of the Man of Steel. That means that Nic Cage plays an alternate version of Superman in the larger multiverse of the DCEU. But was Nicolas Cage ever Superman?

Nicolas Cage never officially played Superman in any of the movies. That’s because the movie never happened due to budget constraints. As such, the entire project, which was supposed to star Nic Cage and was helmed by director Tim Burton was never released or even filmed.

We don’t know what a Nic Cage Superman movie could have been, but we all know that Cage is a talented actor that might have brought an entirely unique kind of Superman to the game. Nevertheless, the movie never happened at a time when the world was still far away from the current one, where superhero movies have become more and more common.

Nicolas Cage’s Superman explained

The events of ‘The Flash’ movie allowed us to see Barry Allen changing history by creating an entirely different timeline wherein his mother is alive. But what he didn’t know was that this timeline was a doomed one because of the arrival of Zod. Of course, Kara Zor-El was the Kryptonian hero of Earth in that timeline. However, Supergirl wasn’t enough to defeat Zod and his Kryptonian army, as she and Batman were killed.

Barry Allen and his younger counterpart from that timeline were trying to change the course of history by going back in time to try to save their friends from death. But every attempt failed, as the original Barry realized this timeline was doomed. Nevertheless, the younger Barry repeatedly went back in time to try to save everyone because he didn’t want his friends to die. This caused him to create a future version of himself, as this Dark Flash entity was the younger Barry, consumed with his obsession to keep everyone alive such that he spent decades repeatedly going back in time.

The appearance of the Dark Flash allowed us to see multiple timelines converging. One of the timelines included a long-haired Superman that was fighting a monster. When he turned, it was clear that Nicolas Cage played this long-haired Superman. But was Nic Cage ever Superman?

Technically, Nicolas Cage was never Superman but was almost the Man of Steel. That’s because a huge Superman movie was supposedly going to become the next part of the Superman movie franchise in an attempt to bring life back to the movie franchise made famous by Christopher Reeve’s four Superman films. Cage was the man that was tapped to play the role of the iconic Kryptonian. Tim Burton, who directed the Michael Keaton Batman movies, was brought in to direct the movies.

The movie was supposedly going to be made during the latter part of the 90s, especially because this was the right time to release a movie to give life back to the Superman movie franchise that saw its end in ‘Superman IV: The Quest for Peace,’ which wasn’t exactly the best movie out of all of the Superman movies. But the movie was eventually axed by Warner Bros. and was never allowed to get filmed even though millions were already spent on expensive sets and equipment.

That means Nicolas Cage was never allowed to helm an entire Superman movie or wear the blue tights and the red cape in a full-length Superman film. Nevertheless, he did see his time as Superman in ‘The Flash,’ which means he did become the Man of Steel, albeit in a short cameo scene in a movie that didn’t even need him to be there.

Why didn’t Nicolas Cage’s Superman movie happen?

As mentioned, Nic Cage was supposed to be Superman in a Tim Burton movie. But this never happened, as the movie was never filmed despite the hype surrounding its production. So, what happened to Nicolas Cage’s Superman movie?

Entitled ‘Superman Lives,’ this movie was conceptualized after the success of the numerous Batman movies released from the 80s to 90s. The best out of all of those Batman movies were the ones that Tim Burton helmed. Coincidentally, Michael Keaton was the man playing Bruce Wayne in those movies.

There was untapped potential for Warner Bros. to try to make a Superman movie because of how successful the Batman films were. Of course, Superman was always one of the most iconic superheroes in history, and that means that moviegoers would instantly give any Superman movie a shot.

The premise of Superman Lives was supposed to follow the events of ‘The Death of Superman,’ a comic book storyline detailing how Doomsday killed Superman. That means that this was an ambitious project that was set to give new life to the Superman franchise. The star power was also palpable because some names tapped to play big roles were Sandra Bullock, Chris Rock, and Christopher Walken.

In fact, several scriptwriters were brought in to create a storyline, as the hired writers shared the story they had envisioned. But in 1998, Warner Bros. shared that the execs were concerned over the quality of the script as this was a high-budget film that was set to bring in big names and expensive effects and equipment. That was when the project was put on hold for a while.

However, after the project was put on hold, it never regained life. Warner Bros. was definite that the movie was dead and that it wasn’t going to get filmed. Some shared that some of the company’s recent failures may have contributed to the decision to axe a movie with a very high budget but a subpar script.

In that regard, Nicolas Cage didn’t get to play the role of Superman in that movie. But, as mentioned, he got his chance in ‘The Flash’ when he got to play an alternate version of Superman from a different timeline. 

Would you give a chance to Cage’s Superman? Let us know in the comments below!

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