Kevin Smith, screenwriter of scrapped film ‘Superman Lives’ reacts to finally seeing his vision in ‘The Flash’: ‘An absolute delight’

(Warning: This story contains spoilers for The flash.)

Director Kevin Smith had a come-circle moment while watching The flash and see Nicolas Cage cameo as Superman.

During a recent interview with Rolling stonethe director-producer-writer said he “nearly fainted” when he first learned the actor would appear in the Andy Muschietti-directed film as the iconic superhero.

“I finally got to see Nic Cage be Superman,” Smith said. “It was a real pleasure for me.”

It hits close to Smith because he initially wrote several draft scripts for the infamous 1998 film Superman lives which never happened. Smith has previously been open about the difficulties they faced with the film and production, including producer Jon Peters making several requests, such as Superman having to fight a giant spider. The two also disagreed on who should play the lead.

“Jon Peters said, ‘I want Sean Penn to play Superman.’ He had just seen Dead man Walking, 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 does that You See?’ I’ve always loved Nic Cage, so I thought, ‘Nic Cage loves Superman. He talks about knowing comics very well. You guys should be looking for Nic Cage.’ And so when Tim Burton was hired, and suddenly they were going with Nic Cage, I was like, wow, I had an idea and somebody took it seriously.

Warner Bros. ended up canceling the film a few weeks before shooting due to creative differences. But fast forward to 2023, Smith finally got to see the vision they once had come to life, when Cage appears during a scene in The flash when Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen opens the multiverse to see the different universes. It’s at that point that Barry sees Cage as Superman battling a giant spider.

Upon seeing that scene, Smith said it was “mind-melting,” adding, “One of the first things I thought when I saw it at the premiere was, ‘Damn it, (the giant spider) would have worked.’ As much as I teased Jon Peters, it seemed badass.

When asked if he can officially confirm that he now likes spiders, Smith replied, “You know what? He (Peters) was not wrong. For example, he could have been successful.

The quick cameo also reminded the director of all the possibilities in the multiverse and that he’s still ready to see Cage in the legendary suit.

“If I’m Warner Bros., I’m like, ‘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, that would be one of the coolest Superman movies ever made. With all due respect to James Gunn e legacy of superman, like, you’re talking about one of the greatest American actors alive. I would still support that game 100 percent.

The flash it is currently playing in theaters.