Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Flash movie.
It’s no secret that The Flash is packed full of cameos, but one of them looks a bit… odd.
Nic Cage seemingly features in a CGI role, as the Superman that never was – his legendary stint as Kal-El from the unreleased Superman Lives. However, it looks as though Cage himself was on set for the weirdly stinted role.
During an interview with The Playlist, director Andy Muschietti confirmed that Cage was on set and shot the cameo appearance in the flesh.
“We talked with Nicolas, and we decided to shoot him in his suit,” he revealed. “And so, we built the suit with the same costume designer that built the suit for the unproduced Superman Lives, which is a movie that would have been great, but nobody will see because it wasn’t made.”
However, the final product doesn’t look like a real person at all.
The heavily CGI Nic Cage Superman can be found during the film’s climactic Chronobowl battle alongside other alternative universe variants of classic DC characters.
Cage’s long-haired version of Superman can be found fighting a massive CGI alien spider – a nod to one of the scenes that would have appeared in the weird and wonderful ‘90s Superman movie… but that never made it to the big screen until now.
“The excitement was shared with Nicolas,” said Muschietti. “And Nicolas is such a kind guy, and I think he shared the enthusiasm for bringing back that movie that was never done – even for a couple minutes in our movie. And yeah, the magic of the multiverse is expressing that this universe exists, even though it’s a movie that nobody saw. So, we’re kind of saying that there is a Superman Lives.”
Of course, this cameo has been in the works for some time, but there’s just one question that’s yet to be answered – why was he CGI?
The finished product looks strangely out of place, even for a scene depicting Nic Cage battling a giant alien spider, and that’s largely due to the uncanny look of the CGI Nic Cage.
Muschietti is yet to confirm why they used CGI for this scene in particular, but one of the more practical explanations would be a simple de-aging process. Superman Lives was originally a ‘90s movie by Tim Burton, and getting Nic Cage back to a similar age would have required some CGI de-aging a la Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Nicolas is such a kind guy, and I think he shared the enthusiasm for bringing back that movie that was never done – even for a couple minutes in our movie
Unfortunately, it just looks a bit wrong, and you have to wonder whether it was worth it for such a short nod to a weirdly out-of-time, never seen production. Fans aren’t too happy either.
Check out who else can be found in the movie with our full breakdown of those cameos.
IGN’s review of The Flash gave it 7/10 and said: “The Flash is an ambitious superhero movie that largely pulls off its tale of two worlds, two Flashes, and two Batmans. The superhero fan service is strong with this one – perhaps too strong at times – but it never fully overshadows Barry Allen’s genuinely tragic and heartfelt story of grief.”
Want to read more about The Flash? Check out how The Flash’s ending sets up a new DCU as well as all the details about The Flash’s alternate endings.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
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