(Warning: This story contains spoilers for The flash.)
Filmmaker Kevin Smith had a full circle moment while watching The flash and seeing Nicolas Cage’s cameo as Superman.
During a recent interview with Rolling stonesaid the director-producer-writer said he “almost passed out” when he first heard the actor would star in the Andy Muschietti-directed film as the iconic superhero.
“I finally got to see Nic Cage play Superman,” said Smith. “It was an absolute delight for me.”
It’s coming close for Smith, as he initially wrote several draft screenplays for the infamous 1998 film Superman lives that never happened. Smith has previously been open about the difficulties they faced with the film and its production, including producer Jon Peters making several demands, such as Superman having to fight a giant spider. They also disagreed on who should play the title role.
“Jon Peters was like, ‘I want Sean Penn to play Superman.’ He had just seen it Walking Dead man, and he says, ‘Look at his eyes in that movie. He has the eyes of a violent animal, a caged killer,’ he recalled. “And I was like ‘Bro, it’s Superman!’ So he’s like, ‘Who do you to see?’ I’ve always loved Nic Cage, so I thought, ‘Nic Cage loves Superman. He talks about knowing the comics very well. You should go after Nic Cage.” And so when Tim Burton got hired and they suddenly went with Nic Cage, I was like, wow, I had an idea and somebody took it seriously.
Warner Bros. the film was halted just weeks before filming was due to begin due to creative differences. But fast forward to 2023, Smith finally got to see the vision they once came to life, when Cage appears during a scene in The flash when Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen opens up the multiverse to see the different universes. It is then that Barry sees Cage as Superman fighting a giant spider.
After seeing that scene, Smith said it was “mind-boggling”, adding, “One of the first things I thought when I saw it at the premiere was, ‘God damn it (the giant spider) would’ve worked .’ No matter how many times I made fun of Jon Peters, that looked cool.
When asked if it can officially confirm that he likes the spider now, Smith replied, “You know what? He (Peters) wasn’t wrong. Like it could have worked out all the way.
The quick cameo also reminded the filmmaker of all the possibilities in the multiverse and that he still wants to see Cage in the legendary super suit.
“If I saw Warner Bros. am, then I say, ‘Fuck it. There’s a multiverse, man. Let’s give Nic Cage a Superman movie,” Smith added. “You don’t have to be the only Superman, but why not? We have several Batmans. I mean shit, it would be one of the most interesting Superman movies ever made. With all due respect to James Gunn and superman legacy, for example, you are talking about one of the greatest American actors in the world. I would still support that game 100 percent.
The flash currently running in theaters.
