Superman's history with celluloid goes far beyond what eventually hit movie screens. In fact, the man in tights has been plagued with development hell so many times that a graveyard of actors can now claim that they were almost able to leap buildings in a single bound. And that's not to say that Christopher Reeve got his big break easy-squeezy, either! The truth is that almost every leading man in the 1970s was considered for the role. The same goes for the 1990s and 2000s, when the road to Krypton was littered with potholes so big that entire productions fell into them just weeks before shooting. In celebration of Man of Steel, out tomorrow, here is a handful of delectable casting choices that almost were and nearly could have been.
DUSTIN HOFFMAN
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Yes, Dustin Hoffman was considered for Richard Donner's 1978 version of Superman, the strongest living being on Earth. Word has it that his name was on an approved casting list from DC Comics that was submitted to the producers. Talk didn't go far with the actor, however, who even ended up also turning down the role of villainous Lex Luthor after passing on the orphaned hero from space. Thankfully Hoffman was free to instead make Straight Time, which has become a cult favorite.
ROBERT REDFORD
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Also on DC's list of approved actors was none other than Dustin's co-star in All the President's Men, Robert Redford, who was Hollywood's golden boy during that time. In fact, the actor would've been Superman if not for money demands and the lack of a finished script. That being said, many considered this a relief. As one agent remarked: "Redford would have been playing Redford playing Superman. After all, who would have believed him flying around in a blue leotard and red booties?"
BURT REYNOLDS
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It's true — good ol' Burt was considered for the role, as were such screen legends as Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Nick Nolte, James Caan, Jon Voight, Sam Elliot, and yes, Charles Bronson (who, as one source says it, was deemed "too earthy" for the role). Still, Reynolds is a wild choice. Smokey and the Bandit came out the same year Superman was in front of the camera, as did Semi-Tough, two of the actor's biggest hits. Even more head-scratching is the idea that Burt would have kept his moustache while wearing the tights, since it was already becoming a staple of his persona (though it did go the way of the Dodo a few years later for the romantic comedy Starting Over).
SYLVESTER STALLONE
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Two years before Superman was released, Rocky catapulted Sylvester Stallone into worldwide fame. Apparently the Italian Stallion screen-tested for the role, though he was deemed "too ethnic." Other reports claim that Marlon Brando, who was paid a world record $3.7 million for two weeks of work on the picture, refused to let a rising star such as Stallone overshadow him. Either way, he would have been an interesting choice, to say the least.
BRUCE JENNER
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No lie — Kim Kardashian's stepfather screen-tested for Superman. While absurd, one could see how the producers would want to cash in on the all-American gold medalist playing the adopted son of America. The truth is that Jenner's screen test was terrible. He wasn't much of an actor — a fact that was solidified a few years later when the athlete co-starred in the Village People movie, Can't Stop the Music, sporting cutoffs and a midriff-bearing shirt, which is probably as far from blue tights as you can get.
HARRISON FORD
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Though his name isn't mentioned in any of the references to the casting of Donner's film, Harrison Ford let it slip in 2009 to MTV News that he believes that he was once being considered for the role. Of course this would have been before his breakout success in Star Wars, which was released three months after Christopher Reeve was announced as the star in a press conference in early 1977. True or not, it's delicious to think about a cocky pre-fedora Ford as the Man of Steel, shaggy hair and all.
NICOLAS CAGE
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A decade after Christopher Reeve's franchise died out in a noble but flawed fight with the Cold War and Nuclear Man (see: Superman IV: A Quest for Peace), Tim Burton mounted a new Superman film with epic proportions, starring none other than Nicolas Cage! Of the few failed Superman productions that never saw the light of day, this is by far the most famous. In fact, Metalpocalypse producer/director Jon Schnepp recently ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund a documentary about the legendary film whose plug was pulled too early. Sporting a script by Kevin Smith (who's shared his own bizarre experiences on the production throughout the years) and featuring a take on "The Death of Superman" comic series, the film would have been a bonkers ride that would have included Superman in an electric suit, aliens, and a robot fighting two polar bears (!). The reason the production was cancelled is still murky, though the utter failure of Batman & Robin a year earlier in 1997 probably had something to do with it.
CHRISTIAN BALE
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Two years before Batman Begins and six years after Tim Burton's failed film, Warner Bros. was in active development of a Superman vs. Batman film. Two actors met with director Wolfgang Petersen (Air Force One) for the role of the Man of Steel — one being Josh Hartnett and the other, yes, Christian Bale! Things didn't get too serious since the idea of the two characters brawling it out was a lot more tantalizing than the script. In fact, it was another script that derailed this film — that being the J.J. Abrams screenplay that had Brett Ratner attached to direct. That was the same production that saw Brendan Fraser and Jude Law screen-test for the role. Of course, that production was shelved as well when Bryan Singer was hired to deliver his not-so-great Superman Returns in 2006.
D.J. COTRONA
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After the so-so reaction to Superman Returns, Warner Bros. hadn't made up their mind on what to do with Brandon Routh's version of the character, so they did what any Hollywood studio would do and pumped tons of money into a Justice League movie featuring a different big boy in blue. This flick would be helmed by Mad Max's George Miller and came quite close to actually being filmed. Peter Jackson's Weta Digital studio was making the costumes and the cast was set (including rapper Common as the Green Lantern), yet the writer's strike of '07-'08 hounded the production, along with rising production costs (some reports put the production around $300 million). Not only did Miller have those headaches to worry about, his casting choices were not too well-received either. Carrying the brunt of the scorn was actor D.J. Cotrona, most recently seen doing not so much in the G.I. Joe sequel. The poor guy was pounced on and not really given a chance to show what he could do. This quote from Jay Baruchel, who was supposed to play the villain (think about that!), paints an interesting picture of what could have been: "It would have been the neatest vision of Batman and the coolest vision of Superman you've ever seen. It would have been dark and fairly brutal and quite gory and just fking epic." Oh really?
JOE MANGANIELLO
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True Blood fans take notice — your beloved bare-chested wolf dude almost got a shot at the Kryptonian gold. In fact, if not for the steamy super-outrageous HBO series, Joe could have been the Man of Steel in Zac Snyder's new film. Ironically, the show was both the main reason he was being considered for the project and the main reason he couldn't take it on, as shooting schedules conflicted far too much. And that, ladies and gents, is how Henry Cavill ended up the new man in textured tights. He's quite good, by the way, though it's totally okay to stop and wonder what could have been.
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