Kevin Smith Talks Robert Rodriguez Almost Directing SUPERMAN LIVES and Why He'll "F–king Never" Make a Marvel Movie — GeekTyrant

Geek Tyrant

17-06-2025

Kevin Smith's long-abandoned Superman Lives script has become the stuff of comic book movie legend. A scrapped '90s Superman reboot once set to star Nicolas Cage, packed with Brainiac, Lex Luthor, and Doomsday.
But in a recent chat with Collider, Smith revealed a fascinating 'what if' from that chaotic development era: Spy Kids and Alita: Battle Angel director Robert Rodriguez nearly directed it before Tim Burton jumped on board. Smith recalled:
'There was a moment back in 1996-97 where Robert Rodriguez, who I knew a little bit from the world of indie film, called me up to be like, 'Warner Bros. asked me to direct your Superman script.' And I was like, 'Please do it. Oh my god, do it. You'd be amazing for it.''
Rodriguez was interested.
'He goes, 'I kind of like it. It's fun, man. Walk me through it. Clearly you know more about Superman than I do.''
For about two days, Rodriguez seriously weighed the project, but ultimately passed in favor of The Faculty , his sci-fi horror teen flick for Dimension Films. Smith said:
'Warner Bros. wanted him big-time, and it would have been his biggest budget to date.'
Looking back, Smith considers the missed opportunity a major creative 'what if', saying:
'If I could make anything that didn't happen happen, I think it would be that because I didn't have the pressure of directing the movie myself. It would have been in the hands of one of my generation's greatest and absolutely-f***ing-on-point visionary action directors.
'That would have been a wonderful marriage of material. That script — and I ain't saying that's the greatest script — but dialogue was sharp in that f***ing script. And this was pre-Avengers, you know, before that became the norm and stuff.'
He also appreciated the idea of having creative distance if the film flopped.
'Even if people were like, 'Oh, I hate that Superman'... then I'm like, 'Yeah, well, blame Robert. He directed it.' So I'd have had the benefit of being involved but not being involved, and I've never really had that.'
Later in the interview, Smith turned his attention to Marvel, specifically, why you'll never see him directing an MCU installment. He's been behind the camera for CW shows like The Flash and Supergirl , but don't expect him to take on something with a Marvel logo anytime soon.
'Everyone's like, 'Do you want to make a Marvel movie?' F***ing never. What in my body of work has ever made anyone think, 'He'd be good for that sort of visual spectacle.''
But a cameo? That's another story.
'Marvel if [they] was like, 'We want you to play ... anybody. One scene — a f**ing bad guy, a good guy.' Oh my god, whose d*ck do I got to suck to make that happen? That's what I'd be more interested in. Because that would be fun, and none of the responsibility would be mine.'
Smith summed it up saying:
'I'm put on this Earth to make Kevin Smith movies, if anything — and most critics will argue that I'm not even put on this earth to do that. But nobody wants to make Kevin Smith movies except me, so that's my lane and I love staying in it.'
He may never direct a superhero tentpole, but there's no denying that Kevin Smith's voice continues to be a unique and passionate part of the geek culture conversation, even when he's just imagining what might've been.