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How Jude Law Ruined Superman Returns

posted 3 years ago by TMC-4 (19510)
3 replies | jump to latest

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When it comes to iconic superhero suits, few are as iconic as Superman’s red and blue. Every actor who has ever played the role has entered a select pantheon – a recognition of sorts, kind of like playing James Bond.

Singer seemed decided to cast Law as his Superman for Superman Returns, going so far as sending the actor the final version of the movie’s suit to try it on. Law was hesitant, thinking that an Englishman like him wasn’t the perfect fit to play such an eminently American hero.

Stranger things have happened, however – like that time Nicolas Cage came dangerously close to playing the Last Son of Krypton himself. Ultimately, Law refused to play Superman, much to Singer’s disappointment.

The reason, he would tell Stephen Colbert in a 2016 interview, was that he couldn’t see himself wearing the Superman costume for more than two minutes. In the end, Brandon Routh was chosen to play the main role in Superman Returns – but that doesn’t mean that Jude Law was out of the picture just yet.

[–] bozo_500 (12463) 2 years ago

Singer never wanted Law to play superman he always wanted an unknown who resembled Christopher Reeve (law was almost cast as superman earlier for the aborted Wolfgang Peterson BvS film). He did want him as Zod (which would've surely followed Superman II not remade it ,unless they were going to be following the Donner Cut of II where at the end superman turns back time again so the events never took place - which is doubtful), Terence Stamp was also rumoured to return somehow (perhaps Stamp would've been a powerless Zod from the end of II when hes depowered and thrown into the fortress abyss, then presumably when lex gets him his powers back he deages into Jude law?) . supposedly when law turned it down Zod was written out which left no supervillian for superman to fight (from imdb trivia "Law was Bryan Singer's only choice to play General Zod. After Law turned down the role several times, Singer eliminated the character from the script" - im guessing Gerard butler was unavaiable?)

[–] cyguration (3925) 2 years ago

That would have made for fascinating storytelling... and I could totally see Jude Law turning in a fantastic performance as Zod if he did it right (sort of like how he carried Captain Marvel despite only being in bits and pieces of it).

Gerard Butler certainly has a better physical stature to be a more imposing Zod, though... but Jude Law carries a more regal air about him that seems believe that he would politic his way into becoming a general. Butler is the kind of guy who seems like he would take a bite out of a sausage and kick butt and take names until he became a general.

[–] FootOfDavros (7119) 2 years ago

The problem with the Donner Cut is that (as far as I recall) it can't really exist in a continuity with Superman 1. Donner himself made the choice to use spinning back time end in the first film - as far as I remember because they didn't have time to do what he wanted to do? - and therefore it would have been ridiculous to see it used in two consecutive films.

Law would have been an interesting choice to do a facsimile of Stamp. He certainly could have brought the same bald gravitas to the role.