Timothy William Burton, aka Tim Burton, is known for his unique and quirky direction style. In 1989, he rescued the caped crusader from all that campy stuff in the ’60s Adam West TV show and brought him back to his dark, noir roots from the comic books.
It was like Batman got a serious makeover, thanks to Burton who helped make (Batman’s) superhero movies all grown-up and moody.
Burton has directed two Batman movies starring Michael Keaton, but he also almost teamed up with Nicolas Cage for a Superman movie called Superman Lives.
Well, it didn’t happen due to high costs and other factors. After Burton explored his take on Gotham City in 1989, he even tried to rescue the Superman project, but it was just not meant to be.
Tim Burton Reflects on the Unfinished Superman Lives Project
Tim Burton still thinks about that Superman Lives project. In a recent chat with the British Film Institute, he said:
“When you work that long on a project and it doesn’t happen, it affects you for the rest of your life.”
The director continued:
“Because you get passionate about things, and each thing is an unknown journey, and [Superman Lives] wasn’t there yet. But it’s one of those experiences that never leaves you, a little bit.”
A tentative release date of 1998 was established for Superman Lives, and Nicolas Cage was reportedly the Superman pick. In the script for Superman Lives by Dan Gilroy (second rewrite following Wesley Strick’s version), young Kal-El was sent to Earth in a rocket with no GPS, and he grew up thinking he was some space alien. Cage even suited up and did screen tests for the role, but he bounced out of the project.
Superman Lives had more problems than this — it emerged and was abandoned. Over the years, many details were revealed regarding the project’s demise. But now the question is why Nicolas Cage popped up in The Flash a couple of decades later, looking just like he did in those old test shots for Burton’s project. Studios recycled the creative stuff — as Cage’s scene was all CGI with no talking.
Tim Burton Expresses Frustration Over Superman Lives’ Character Use in The Flash
Burton had to relive the Batman and Superman saga this summer when his version was seen in The Flash. In that same interview (British Film Institute), they asked him if he regrets the Cage project. He then said on this:
“But also it goes into another AI thing, and this is why I think I’m over it with the studio,” Burton said. “They can take what you did, Batman or whatever, and culturally misappropriate it, or whatever you want to call it. Even though you’re a slave of Disney or Warner Brothers, they can do whatever they want. So in my latter years of life, I’m in quiet revolt against all this.”
Burton explicitly says he’s mad that those characters showed up in The Flash. He noted that studios want to have perpetual ownership of actors’ likenesses and use them through AI technology (especially, which is also an issue in the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike).
He says it’s like someone else taking your creative work and running with it in ways you might not agree with. Intellectual property and creative control are big deals in the entertainment industry, and it’s frustrating for Burton to see those lines getting blurred.
Source: British Film Institute
