Writer/director Kevin Smith’s name is never too far away whenever something occurs in the world, and particularly the comic book movie world. Once upon a time, Smith was all lined up to deliver a script for the infamous cinematic endeavorSuperman Lives, and now he has revealed who he had in mind to play the iconic DC hero’s arch-enemy Lex Luthor when he was putting pen to paper.
“When I wrote my Superman Lives script, Rooker was who I saw in my head as Lex Luthor. … So his head shaving became yet another comic book reference.”
So, we almost got to seeGuardians of the GalaxyandThe Walking DeadstarMichael Rookertake on the Man of Steel on the big screen. Rooker sported a shiny, shaven head in Kevin Smith’s slacker buddy comedyMallratsand he certainly looks very Lex Luthor-like.
Kevin Smithhas mentioned before that he wanted Rooker as Lex forSuperman Lives, but knowing that his intentions date back to the writing process takes the story to a whole new level and means that the actor was in mind when Kevin Smith was shaping his version of the supervillain character.
This revelation came about during Focus Features' live stream commentary onMallrats, and also featured Smith divulge a few details about landing comic book legend Stan Lee, Shannon Doherty getting the film greenlit, as well as a whole bunch of details pertaining to the upcoming sequelTwilight of the Mallrats.
In the past Smith has spoken about the failedSuperman Livesin great detail. The movie was supposed to be directed by none other thanBatmanandBatman Returns’Tim Burton, and would eventually see a re-write fromRogue Onewriter Dan Gilroy that never came to be. Lined up toplay Superman was Nicolas Cage, who had already been fitted with a costume, but sadly, for a variety of reasons including a giant robotic spider, the movie never made it to the big screen. Even now,Superman Livesremains one of the greatest curiosities of comic book cinema, and we can only imagine what exactly it would have been like.
Though, perhaps this is for the best, as it is debatable whether humanity will ever be ready to see Nicolas Cage’s Superman go toe-to-toe with Michael Rooker’s Lex Luthor.
Smith has wanted tomake a follow-up to Mallratsfor years, and it looks like it is finally happening, with the writer/director confirming the title,Twilight of the Mallratsback in January. He has also released some very scant details regarding the plot, with the sequel once again taking place at a mall, obviously.
“The whole thing is, there’s a big convention at the mall, so there’s plenty of places and opportunities [for things to happen]. […] It took a minute but we’re gonna make it happen.”
