There is recently an internet buzz about this, since there's a documentary on Kickstarter trying to get up about it.
"Superman Lives" was a film that was supposed to be made directed by Tim Burton, produced by John Peters, with a script from Kevin Smith and starring Nicolas Cage as Superman. It was based on the Death of Superman story arc, and was to feature Braniac, and it was supposed to come out in 1998 and revitalize the Superman franchise that had been dormant since the 80s. Costume tests were done, posters were made (of which only one is known to still exist), scripts were written, but it never ended up happening. Things fell apart, people came and went (Smith was replaced when Burton came in because Burton wanted his own people), and it just failed to materialize. It was also, depending on which script you read, absolute odd, unique or abysmal. The original script was campy, and that's when Kevin Smith came in since he said it was crap and they had him rewrite it, which he did. However, the producer was a schmuck and wanted things like Superman not to wear a costume ("too faggy" in his words) or fly, and for Brainiac to have a dog like Chewbacca so they could sell toys, and for them to get attack by polar bears when they went to the Fortress of Solitude, and for Superman to fight a giant spider. Basically, the terrible elements of 90s corporate Hollywood. Smith ended up being replaced when Burton came aboard, as said, but I don't know where the script went from there.
Smith talks about it somewhat here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgYhLIThTvk
And here's some detail:
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/superman/24306/a-closer-look-at-the-superman-lives-script
http://superman.wikia.com/wiki/Superman_Lives
So what if "Superman Lives" had been made?
"Superman Lives" was a film that was supposed to be made directed by Tim Burton, produced by John Peters, with a script from Kevin Smith and starring Nicolas Cage as Superman. It was based on the Death of Superman story arc, and was to feature Braniac, and it was supposed to come out in 1998 and revitalize the Superman franchise that had been dormant since the 80s. Costume tests were done, posters were made (of which only one is known to still exist), scripts were written, but it never ended up happening. Things fell apart, people came and went (Smith was replaced when Burton came in because Burton wanted his own people), and it just failed to materialize. It was also, depending on which script you read, absolute odd, unique or abysmal. The original script was campy, and that's when Kevin Smith came in since he said it was crap and they had him rewrite it, which he did. However, the producer was a schmuck and wanted things like Superman not to wear a costume ("too faggy" in his words) or fly, and for Brainiac to have a dog like Chewbacca so they could sell toys, and for them to get attack by polar bears when they went to the Fortress of Solitude, and for Superman to fight a giant spider. Basically, the terrible elements of 90s corporate Hollywood. Smith ended up being replaced when Burton came aboard, as said, but I don't know where the script went from there.
Smith talks about it somewhat here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgYhLIThTvk
And here's some detail:
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/superman/24306/a-closer-look-at-the-superman-lives-script
http://superman.wikia.com/wiki/Superman_Lives
So what if "Superman Lives" had been made?