A new photo has surfaced online showing Josh Hartnett dressed as DC’s Man of Steel for a cancelled Superhuman film.
Per Comic book, cinematographer Ryan Unicomb shared a photo of Hartnett as Clark Kent/Superman on his Instagram account. “SUPERMAN by Brett Ratner from the FLYBY script by JJ. Josh Hartnett will be WOWED. It finally got through and Matt Bomer took first place before the studio threw it out,” the caption reads for the photo, which can be seen below.
What happened to DC’s Superman: Flyby?
In the early 2000s, JJ Abrams wrote a script for a Superman film with the working title Superman: Flyby. Mallon was hired to direct the film in September 2022, while Christopher Reeve was hired as a project consultant.
Hartnett wasn’t the only person considering playing the Last Son of Krypton at the time. Brendan Fraser told Howard Stern in February 2023, via Variety, “Everybody in town was reading about Superman. Like, again, we try I think six or seven guys in 2002/2003. Paul Walker, I remember Paul Walker was before me. They were like the usual suspects.”
Ratner eventually left the project in 2003 after casting delays, a growing budget and other issues. McG was hired as his replacement, but soon left the project for similar reasons as Ratner.
After more delays, X-Men’s Bryan Singer was cast in Superman: Flyby, which eventually morphed into 2006’s Superman Returns. Ratner, meanwhile, directed 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand.
Hartnett, who made his professional acting debut in 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, is known for starring in 1998’s The Faculty, 2001’s Pear Harbor, 2001’s Black Hawk Down, 2001’s Sin City 2005’s 2005 Sin City’s 702, 20 Right, and 2023’s Oppenheimer. He also played the role of Ethan Chandler on Showtime’s Penny Dreadful.
