Superman Lives, den skæbnesvangre Tim Burton-film, der aldrig så dagens lys, er en af filmverdenens mest omtalte fiaskoer, og fans drømmer stadig om, hvad den kunne være blevet til. Men takket være The Flash, den seneste i rækken af DCU-film, fik vi i det mindste en lille smagsprøve på Nicolas Cage iført de ikoniske tights. Det er en af filmens mest mindeværdige øjeblikke.
Betyder det, at der er håb for, at Superman Lives bliver genoplivet i en eller anden form? Næppe, og i hvert fald ikke på en måde, der fuldfører Burtons vision. Instruktøren siger selv, at han bestemt ikke er ked af den måde, det hele faldt sammen på, men i et interview med British Film Institute forklarer han, at tanker om Superman Lives vil hjemsøge ham resten af livet. Det var en kort, men intens oplevelse, som han var meget passioneret omkring.
"No, I don't have regrets. I will say this: when you work that long on a project and it doesn't happen, it affects you for the rest of your life. Because you get passionate about things, and each thing is an unknown journey, and it wasn't there yet. But it's one of those experiences that never leaves you, a little bit."
Burton blev også spurgt ind til hans mening om Cages optræden i The Flash, til hvilket han svarede:
"But also it goes into another AI thing, and this is why I think I'm over it with the studio. They can take what you did, Batman or whatever, and culturally misappropriate it, or whatever you want to call it. Even though you're a slave of Disney or Warner Brothers, they can do whatever they want. So in my latter years of life, I'm in quiet revolt against all this."
Nicholas Cage er tværtimod begejstret for, at han fik mulighed for at iføre sig tightsene igen.
"Well, I was glad I didn't blink. For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it's quick."
Gad du godt se Tim Burtons Superman Lives blive genoplivet og få en chance mere?