Even though Man of Steel is often viewed as being the launching point for the DC Extended Universe as we know it – or knew it – let’s not forget how 2011’s Green Lantern flick was originally intended to serve as the kickoff. But when that failed to resonate with critics and general moviegoers, Warner Bros. fell back on Superman.
Unfortunately, Man of Steel didn’t quite meet the studio’s financial expectations, either, forcing them to shoehorn their golden goose into the (sort of) sequel that was Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Actually, I’m now at risk of repeating myself as we go along, as both BvS and Justice League endured similar fates. And thanks to this vicious cycle, Henry Cavill never got to star in Big Blue’s answer to The Dark Knight, as it were.
In the midst of all this, Mission: Impossible – Fallout director Christopher McQuarrie brainstormed some ideas with Cavill for what could’ve been Man of Steel 2. Furthermore, the former also had a vision for a possible Green Lantern reboot.
Believe it or not, some details came to light during recent Twitter exchanges involving McQuarrie and several of his fans. When asked about the situation, the filmmaker revealed that his Superman and Green Lantern pictures that never made it to screen would’ve been connected:
“Too complicated to explain. It tied into the Superman movie that Cavill and I were proposing. No takers. The studios have never cared for my original ideas. They prefer that I fix their broken ones.”
The fact that McQuarrie just took a casual jab at studio executives makes me want to shake his hand. But once he had the chance to continue, he pointed out the difference between each possible project, saying: “Green Lantern was a written proposal. Superman was a pitch.”
At this point, things may or may not be getting confusing to you. Strangely enough, McQuarrie was never actually shot down, revealing:
“They never said no. They just never moved on it. This was just before Fallout was released. And no, I would not reconsider. There’s too many other things I want to do.”
For the sake of trivia buffs out there, let’s hope we one day learn what his stories would’ve entailed. At the very least, we should be able to conclude that Superman wouldn’t have had his mustache digitally removed.
