The documentary explores the failed production of a Superman film that was supposed to be directed by Burton and written by Kevin Smith.
- Jul 26, 2014
AceShowbiz - "The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?" trailer has been released in an effort to raise its finishing funds. The documentary directed by Jon Schnepp revolves around the doomed Superman project that went through many complicated process and did not make it to the theaters at the end.
Back in 1996, Kevin Smith generated big ideas for a Superman movie that would eventually be known as "Superman Lives". Unfortunately, despite having such big names as Tim Burton in the director seat, Lorenzo di Bonaventura in production department, and Nicolas Cage as the titular character, the movie never saw the light.
The idea was to have a Superman that doesn't wear the classic red and blue suit and him fighting Brainiac with a possible cameo from Batman. Chris Rock was cast as Jimmy Olsen while Kevin Spacey was brought in to portray Lex Luthor. Spacey would later slip in the same role for 2006's "Superman Returns". When Burton was hired as the director, he reportedly wanted to chip in his own ideas that placed the movie in a state of flux.
The trailer saw Schnepp got Burton and other behind-the-scenes people talking, but not Cage or any of the actors. These people revealed their visions of the movie, what they wanted to accomplish and what went wrong. There is footage from the film's early production including the scene of Cage landing after flying at a sonic-speed.
