The Superman That Almost Wasn’t

With Superman Returns just around the corner, I thought this might be a good time to explore the long, complex and sometimes worrisome path to its creation. Producer Jon Peters has been the producer behind Superman for a decade. During the time he’s been in charge he’s sat and talked with many writers, directors and actors. There were no less than four scripts turned in and several “A-List” talents involved. I doubt anyone can truly unweave the tangled web which is the history of this film completely, but hopefully I can give you a little background and a reason to be thankful Bryan Singer’s vision is the one they finally went with.

In 1996 Kevin Smith (yes that Kevin Smith) was hired to write a draft of a Superman script. Some of Smith’s comments on the process can really shed a light on why it took so long to get here. I’ll let Smith tell you in his own words. Here’s one of the things Smith had to say about Peters

“He was always saying that Brainiac should give Luthor a space dog, something from that menagerie of his. He gives Luthor a dog; Luthor is afraid of the dog, and the dog hates him. I’m like, ‘It doesn’t really lend to the story; why do you want that?’ ‘Because I need a Chewie.’ This was during the time of STAR WARS’ re-release, and he said, ‘Chewie’s cuddly, man. You could make a toy out of him, so you’ve got to give me a dog.’”

To sum it up, Peters is a flavor of the month type of guy. He wants what’s already selling out there. He wants to cash in on other people success. Peters even wanted to take some “inspiration” from Smith’s own movie in the form of a gay L-Ron (Brainiacs robot sidekick). Peters wanted a “gay R2D2”. Peters had several other crazy requirements, including Brainiac fighting polar bears on his way to the Fortress of Solitude and Supes fighting a giant spider in the third act. To be fair that’s the only complaint smith seems to have about him, but it’s a pretty big one from Superman fan point of view. In 1997 Smith is out because Tim Burton is in.

Tim Burton came onto the project in 1997. The thought was if he was successful with Batman, why not Superman. I could list all the reasons it should never have been considered, but hopefully they are obvious. No matter how crazy it was the project was in full swing, including actor Nicholas Cage as Superman. By this time the project had taken on the name Superman Lives and was the subject of many rumors. In 1998 Tim Burton was off the film and the project is dead in the water. A year later the project is back with Nicholas Cage and a script by Dan Gilroy. The project hangs in creative limbo.

In 1999 Warner Brothers starts talking a whole new project, a Superman Batman team up, or maybe Superman versus Batman, it really all depended on what day of the week it was. The fact that this project was supposedly a serious consideration put Superman lives on the back burner. In 2000 Nicholas Cage left because it was just plain taking to long. Nothing against Nicholas Cage, but I let out a heavy sigh of relief that day.

For the next two years rumors fly, none of them worth mentioning here. In 2002 though, there’s new talent on the movie. McG, the director of the Charlie’s Angels films is signed to start the process from scratch. Gone are all the past incarnations and the process starts in earnest. Before long J.J. Abrams is writing a script and Brendan Fraser is rumored to be the new Superman. Waiting in the wings however is the Superman/Batman movie. In July 2002 WB announces they’re going forward with Superman/Batman, it’s canceled a month later however in favor of two separate movies.

At the end of 2002 McG was off the Superman film and Brett Ratner was on as director of a script by J.J. Abrams. A few quick notes about the J.J. Abrams script. This script was crap. In the script Krypton isn’t destroyed, Clark’s suit has a mind of its own, Superman dies (and is brought back by a stern talking to by Jor-El) and then the worst part happens, the stupidest thing I think I’ve ever read. Lex Luthor turns out to be from Krypton. J.J. Abrams may have a gift for dialogue and be a good writer, but he can’t find a good story to save his life.

From here all we hear is that Ratner is out. It’s not until 2004 when Bryan Singer is brought on that we start hearing more. The movie gets fast tracked and everyone involved says it’s incredible. Even Jon Peters admits he tried to do it wrong for a decade. I have high hopes for Superman Returns, it’s got a little of the old, a little of the new and hopefully a lot of fun. This could very well have been worth the wait and it certainly beats the runners up. Check out RavingMedia.info for a review as soon as I get to see it.