**Spoilers for “The Flash” below. You’ve been warned…**
After years of delays (including multiple filmmakers coming and going, as well as a global pandemic), Warner Bros. finally released “The Flash” this weekend to an anxiously awaiting fandom. And while the film has earned mixed-to-positive reviews, there has been a lot of discussion online about the various cameos that are shown in the film. The marketing has already spoiled some of the surprises, including Michael Keaton’s long-awaited return as Batman. However, there are still quite a few that will likely shock first-time watchers. Maybe the most surprising is a small cameo towards the end featuring none other than Nicolas Cage as Superman. And in a recent interview on The Discourse podcast, filmmaker Andy Muschietti broke down how that cameo came about.
Shortly after the film screened first at this year’s CinemaCon, a quote from Andy Muschietti surfaced discussing a secret Superman cameo from none other than Nicolas Cage, who was set to play the character in Tim Burton’s unproduced “Superman Lives” in 1998. When asked why he decided to talk about it so soon, Muschietti was quick to confirm that the quote was a leak that was not supposed to run until after release.
“That was a leak – unfortunately,” Andy Muschietti said. “I would have never [talked about it]. It didn’t seem to affect much. Of course, I would love that to be a surprise, but the truth is that the movie has a lot of surprises – apart from the Nic Cage thing.”
Producing partner, Barbara Muschietti continued, “But I’ll tell you that leak hurt. We were not happy and when all of this is over, I’ll name names!”
Those that saw the film were shocked to see Cage’s Superman grace the screen for the first time, but some were questioning if Cage himself actually played the role or if it was another actor made to look like Cage with CGI. The director happily confirmed that Cage himself participated.
“We talked with Nicolas, and we decided to shoot him in his suit,” Muschietti said. “And so, we built the suit with the same costume designer that built the suit for the unproduced ‘Superman Lives,’ which is a movie that would have been great, but nobody will see because it wasn’t made. But the excitement was shared with Nicolas, and Nicolas is such a kind guy, and I think he shared the enthusiasm for bringing back that movie that was never done – even for a couple minutes in our movie. And yeah, the magic of the multiverse is expressing that this universe exists, even though it’s a movie that nobody saw. So, we’re kind of saying that there is a ‘Superman Lives.’”
Were they worried about people not understanding what the Nic Cage Superman was? Sure. But, for the Muschiettis, it seems that the cameo was just too good to pass up.
“Yes, [we were nervous], but the excitement of doing it overrode everything,” Muschitti shared. “It’s like, of course, someone said, ‘What about the people that don’t know that Nicolas Cage [was going to be Superman]. Wouldn’t it be a funny moment to see Nicolas Cage out of nowhere dressed as Superman?’ And our answer was, ‘We don’t care!’”
As mentioned, Cage shows up in a brief moment towards the end of the film when we see the various multiverse worlds colliding. We also see appearances by Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater, as well as a brief homage to the original “Batman” TV series in the ’60s. But it’s the Cage moment that gets the most shine, actually showing the actor in an action scene.
“The Flash” is in theaters now.