Through no fault of his own, Brendan Fraser’s track record with getting stories from the DC universe off the page and onto the screen hasn’t been a great one. Long before that elusive Batgirl film got shot and shelved, there was a time when the Oscar-winning star was almost up, up and away in Superman: Flyby. Among the many nearly, but not quite, projects that tried to bring the Man of Steel to life, Flyby was produced and penned by J.J. Abrams and, at the time, set to be directed by Brett Ratner. This take was set to lean more into a science-fiction angle for the Last Son of Krypton with an origin story that saw his homeworld in full-blown civil war.
Talking about the time he came close to knocking on the door of the Fortress of Solitude on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Fraser recalled reading a script and even donning the costume. "Oh, I loved that screenplay. They let me read it. They locked me in an empty office in, I don't know, some studio lot. [I] signed an NDA. It was printed black, on crimson paper, so you couldn't photocopy it or sneak it out the door inscospicuously.”
Without going into detail, Fraser did praise Abrams' take on the Big Blue Boy Scout. "I mean, it was Shakespeare in space. It was a really good screenplay. It really was. But, yes, I was considered. I did do a screen test. I did wear the big guy's suit.”
He wasn’t the only person considered for the role at the time. Names like Jude Law, Josh Hartnett, Paul Walker, and Ashton Kutcher were approached, and even Henry Cavill had a screen test in the suit before he’d eventually get the gig in Man of Steel. For Fraser, though, he was aware of just what kind of demand came with putting on the cape, which is why he was apprehensive about even trying it out.
"If I think about it, I can remember feeling, you know, you feel a little certain anxiety anyway, when you're going up on some big job. But I also remember thinking, 'Hm, if I do get this job, then, well, I think 'Superman's gonna be chipped on my gravestone,' you know?” Fraser explained. “There’s an element of, 'You are that for the rest of your days. Your career.' And that's not a bad thing. I'm not saying that's gonna kill me anytime soon, but, you know, it is something that becomes part of your entire brand. Who you are."
The world might have missed out on a great take on Superman, but it’s not all bad news. Who needs a hero with heat vision and superspeed, when Fraser is set to reprise his role as Rick O’Connell in a new Mummy movie? He won’t be alone either, as Rachel Weisz will also be returning as his on-screen love, Evelyn. Take that, Kal-El.
For a deeper dive into the history of Superman and Batman stories that never were, check out our list here.
