After years of delays Warner Bros. released ‘Flash’ to mixed critical scrutiny and a troubling box office for DC there have been mLots of discussion about the various cameos shown in the film, though the marketing has already botched some of the surprises, including the long-awaited return of Michael Keaton as Batman. However, there were still quite a few that will likely surprise first-time viewers.
FLASH ENDING SPOILERS
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the film is a small cameo towards the end with none other than Nicolas Cage as Superman. Shortly after the film first screened at this year’s CinemaCon, a quote from Andy Muschietti surfaced about the character’s secret cameo in Tim Burton’s unproduced 1998 film ‘Superman Lives.’ In a recent interview on on The Discourse podcast, the filmmaker was quick to confirm that the quote was a leak that was not supposed to be released until after launch.
“That was a leak, unfortunately. She would never have talked about it. It didn’t seem to affect much. Of course, I would love it to be a surprise, but the truth is that the film has many surprises, apart from the Nic Cage thing. The leak hurt. We didn’t like it and when this is all over, I’ll name names!”
Seeing Cage’s Superman on screen for the first time is exciting, but many wondered if Cage actually played the role himself or if it was another actor made to look like Cage with CGI. The director confirmed that Cage himself participated (although he doesn’t mention that there is a digital rejuvenation that covers his face).
“We spoke with Nicolás and we decided to film him in his suit. So, we built the suit with the same costume designer who built the suit for the unproduced ‘Superman Lives,’ which is a movie that would have been great, but no one will see it because it was never made.
But the emotion was shared with Nicolas, who is a very nice guy, and I think he brought the enthusiasm to remember that movie that he never got to do, even for a couple of minutes in our movie. And yes, the magic of the multiverse is expressing that this universe exists, even if it is a movie that nobody saw. So, we are saying that there is a ‘Superman Lives’”.
Cage appears in a brief moment towards the end of the film when we see various worlds of the multiverse collide. We also see appearances by Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater, as well as a brief homage to the original ‘Batman’ TV series in the 1960s. But it’s Cage’s moment that shines the brightest, showing the actor in an action scene. The Muschietti were concerned that people would not understand what the Nic Cage Superman was.but the cameo was too good to pass up.
“Yes, we were nervous, but the excitement of doing it overturned everything. It’s like, of course, someone said, ‘What about people who don’t know that Nicolas Cage was going to be Superman? Wouldn’t it be weird to see Nicolas Cage out of nowhere dressed as Superman?’ And our response was: ‘We don’t care!’”
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