[This article really obviously has a major spoiler for The Flash, so if you care about an untarnished viewing experience, thanks for clicking this article — but go read something else instead.] The Flash arrives in theaters on June 16, and despite the self-destruction of the DC Extended Universe, the legal troubles of star Ezra Miller, and general superhero fatigue, the buzz surrounding the movie is really positive. Early reviews have claimed the movie packs genuine heart to match its thrills, and Warner Bros. has to be salivating at the financial potential of Michael Keaton returning as Batman. But via Variety, The Flash director Andy Muschietti has revealed that the movie contains a much crazier, more shocking cameo character: Nicolas Cage as Superman, stemming from the aborted ’90s movie Superman Lives.
Once upon a time, Tim Burton was set to direct a Superman movie called Superman Lives, a fact so well known that it received its own documentary. Nicolas Cage was to play a long-haired, vaguely “emo” Superman, and there is a photo of Cage in costume that has been floating around the internet for years. If emo Superman sounds strange, well, it gets much stranger than that thanks to the requirements of film producer Jon Peters, but that’s a separate conversation.
Regardless, Nicolas Cage is a huge comic book fan (as reflected in his performance in Kick-Ass), and about him somehow appearing as Superman in The Flash, Andy Muschietti said, “Nic was absolutely wonderful. Although the role was a cameo, he dove into it… I dreamt all my life to work with him. I hope I can work with him again soon.”
It’s nice to hear that someone who loves the source material so much is finally getting to live his dream, if briefly. I would be stone-cold lying if I said I wanted to see an actual movie starring Nicolas Cage as Superman though.
