Superman Lives, the ill-fated Tim Burton production that never saw the light of day, is one of the film world's most talked about failures and fans still dream of what could have been. But, thanks to The Flash, the latest in the series of DCU films, we at least got a brief, brief taste of Nicolas Cage wearing the iconic tights. It's a sizzling moment that is clearly one of the film's great pleasures.
Will this mean that there is hope that Superman Lives will be resurrected in some form, no hardly, and definitely not according to the vision Burton had. The director himself says he's certainly not distressed by the way everything fell apart, but in an interview with the British Film Institute he explained that the thoughts of Superman Lives will stay with him and haunt him for the rest of his life. It was a short but intense experience that he was very enthusiastic about.
"No, I don't have regrets. I will say this: when you work that long on a project and it doesn't happen, it affects you for the rest of your life. Because you get passionate about things, and each thing is an unknown journey, and it wasn't there yet. But it's one of those experiences that never leaves you, a little bit."
Burton was also asked about Cage's cameo in The Flash and what he thought of it. To which the director gave the following answer:
"But also it goes into another AI thing, and this is why I think I'm over it with the studio. 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."
Nicholas Cage himself, on the other hand, has been explicitly happy that he got the chance to put on the tights again.
"Well, I was glad I didn't blink. For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it's quick."
Would you like to see Tim Burton's Superman Lives resurrected and given a chance again?