The Flash director Andy Muschietti revealed a very unlikely DC superhero featured in the film’s finale was not a CGI role.
Who was the non-CGI DC Superhero cameo?
Muschietti appeared on The Discourse podcast to spill secrets on the DCU film — and dish on the many cameos. One appearance that got DC fans talking was Nicholas Cage‘s take on the Man of Steel, originally intended for Tim Burton‘s abandoned 1998 project Superman Lives.
Now, Muschietti opens up on how he talked the one-time Oscar winner into donning the red and blue tights.
“We talked with Nicolas, and we decided to shoot him in his suit,” Muschietti said. “We built the suit with the same costume designer that built the suit for the unproduced ‘Superman Lives’ […] Nicolas is such a kind guy, and I think he shared the enthusiasm for bringing back that movie that was never done – even for a couple minutes in our movie.'”
Cage was cast as Kal-El for a record $20 million in 1997 to star in Tim Burton’s take on the Superman mythology. Superman Lives was plagued by multiple script rewrites — including a draft by Kevin Smith — alongside budget concerns and creative differences between Burton, producer Jon Peters, and Warner Bros. The drama behind the scenes was the subject of the late Jon Schnepp’s 2015 documentary, The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened?
Despite concerns the cameo would not work on modern audiences, Muschietti opted to take the chance on it regardless.
“Yes, [we were nervous], but the excitement of doing it overrode everything,” Muschietti said. “It’s like, of course, someone said, ‘What about the people that don’t know that Nicolas Cage [was going to be Superman]. Wouldn’t it be a funny moment to see Nicolas Cage out of nowhere dressed as Superman?’ And our answer was, ‘We don’t care!'”
The Flash is now playing in theaters.
