Following his breakout success with ‘The Mummy’ series, Brendan Fraser was once a contender for a Superman film that J.J. Abrams planned to write and Brett Ratner was set to produce.

Speaking about the screen test for the ultimately abandoned project—Warner Bros. later moved forward with Bryan Singer’s 2006 film ‘Superman Returns’—the ‘Rental Family’ star said he resonated with the material but questioned whether he was ready for the immense commitment and legacy tied to the iconic role.

“I loved that screenplay,” he said to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “They let me read it. They locked me in an empty office in some studio lot, I signed an NDA. It was printed black on crimson paper, so you couldn’t photocopy it or sneak it out the door inconspicuously. I mean, it was Shakespeare in space. It was a really good screenplay.”

Fraser added that the secrecy surrounding the project was intense, saying that even snapping a photo of himself in the Superman suit felt completely forbidden. He also reflected on what it would mean to be permanently linked to such a legendary character.

“You feel a little certain anxiety anyway when you’re going up on some big job,” the actor said, “but I also remember thinking: ‘If I do get this job, then, well, I think Superman’s gonna be chipped on my gravestone.’ There’s an element of, you are that for the rest of your days, your career. And that’s not a bad thing; I’m not saying it’s gonna kill me any time soon, but it is something that becomes part of your entire brand, who you are. And I don’t know if I was ready to take that on then.”

Meanwhile, on the development front, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn confirmed last year that even with his own successful ‘Superman’ film starring David Corenswet, the Abrams-led project was still moving forward.

Reports from 2021 indicated that Abrams would produce the reboot, with Ta-Nehisi Coates writing the screenplay. No story details have been revealed, but this version of Kal-El is expected to exist in an alternate universe separate from Gunn’s 2025 film.

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