Test footage has surfaced of Kevin Smith's/ Tim Burton's actual Superman Lives suit. Earlier we got a glimpse of some stills, now we get the suit in action. Its by no means a final version and certainly has "in development" written all over it but its nice to see a little bit more of Smith and Producer Joe Peter's alternative take on the man of steel. Smith pitched Peters his story outline in August 1996, and was granted permission to go ahead and write the screenplay under three conditions. Peters wanted Superman to wear an all-black suit, feeling the more traditional suit was "too faggy". He also did not want Superman to fly, arguing that Superman would "look like an overgrown Boy Scout!"
Peters third condition was that Superman had to fight a giant spider for the climactic showdown. Smith went ahead and wrote the script which included a scene involving Brainiac fighting polar bears at the Fortress of Solitude. Peters wanted Brainiac to give Lex Luthor a space dog, stating "Chewie's cuddly, man". Smith's draft [titled Superman Lives] had Brainiac sending Doomsday to kill Superman, as well as blocking out the sun to make Superman powerless, as Superman is fueled by sunlight. Brainiac teams with Lex Luthor, but Superman is resurrected by a Kryptonian robot, The Eradicator. [Which is what the suit is suspected to be]. Smith's casting choices included Ben Affleck as Clark Kent / Superman, Linda Fiorentino as Lois Lane, Jack Nicholson as Lex Luthor, Famke Janssen as Mercy, John Mahoney as Perry White, David Hyde Pierce as The Eradicator, Jason Lee as Brainiac and Jason Mewes as Jimmy Olsen. Robert Rodriguez was offered the directors chair, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with The Faculty, despite liking Smith's script. Smith originally suggested Tim Burton to direct his script, and Burton signed on with a pay or play contract of $5 million. You can take a look at Kevin Smith's Superman Lives script here:
