True Story Of The Best Superman Movies Never Made

Kevin Smith is one of those people that is synonymous with comic books and their entire culture. He embraces the role of being a nerd, and with projects like Mallrats, Clerks, and Jay and Silent Bob under his belt, he has become an incredibly popular figure.

Coming off the back of his success with Mallrats, Smith was so offended by Gregory Poirier's Superman Reborn script, he began his own rewrite that would become Superman Lives. Years before the actor took up the cowl of Batman, had this idea ever come to fruition it would have been Ben Affleck as the Man of Steel.

Smith was writing his Superman part specifically for his Mallrats colleague, in a story that would have taken inspiration from the classic Death of Superman arc. Once in development however, things infamously broke down between Smith and producer Jon Peters, largely over casting.

While Smith was dead-set on Ben Affleck, the studio wanted to cast Sean Penn in what would have been a darker version of the character, not too dissimilar to how Zack Snyder brought the Man of Steel to life. While this style certainly has its fans, it has largely divided the fandom since the DCEU's inception, and it's hard to imagine Smith's passion for the character wouldn't have brought something far more enjoyable to the table.