A lot of the time, fans are really skeptical of actors after they’re cast for a superhero role in a film. The biggest question is– Do they look the part. And in the case of Matt Bomer, he definitely looks the part for Superman. But according to the actor, even though he made it really far into an audition to play Superman years ago and was seemingly the top choice for the role, something ridiculous prevented him from landing the role.
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Speaking to THR, Matt Bomer talked about his flirtation with the role of Superman years ago for the J.J. Abrams film, “Superman: Flyby.” Everything was going really well. He seemed destined for the role (even though the film itself didn’t move forward). But something prevented him from landing the gig.
“I went in on a cattle call for Superman, and then it turned into a one-month audition experience where I was auditioning again and again and again,” he said. “It looked like I was the director’s choice for the role. This is a very early iteration of Superman written by J.J. Abrams, called ‘Superman: Flyby,’ I think is what it was called, and it never came to light.”
So, what went wrong? When THR asked if his sexuality came into play (Bomer is gay) during the decision process. Sadly, Bomer confirmed that his coming out as gay was the reason he didn’t land the role.
Bomer replied, “Yeah, that’s my understanding. That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you. How, and why, and who, I don’t know, but yeah, that’s my understanding.”
It’s really sad that the actor’s sexuality came into play with landing the role. Of course, we all know how toxic superhero fandom can be. And even though most of the people probably wouldn’t have had an issue with Bomer playing the role, there would be some people who wouldn’t want a gay man to play Superman–as if that happening would somehow change the comic book character’s sexuality.
Obviously, it didn’t ultimately matter. Even though Bomer lost the role, “Superman: Flyby” would get stuck in development and wouldn’t actually ever get made. Instead, we got Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” with Henry Cavill in the Superman role.