A number of Superman projects have gone unmade after being announced or put into development. Now actor Matt Bomer reveals he was attached to one such project, in which he would have played Superman. Interestingly, however, Matt Bomer also claims he lost the part of Superman for being gay.
The actor publicly came out as gay in 2012. At that time, however, and especially before, Hollywood politics weren’t as liberal as they are today. As such, Bomer says it’s what cost him the role – and furthermore, how the project never came to light. This was revealed by Bomer while speaking with the THR podcast Awards Chatter.
He first explained that the early 2000s project, which was written by J.J. Abrams, was he believed to be called Superman: Flyby. In addition to being chosen for the role of Superman by the project’s director, he claims to have signed a three-picture deal with Warner Bros.
“This is a very early iteration of Superman written by J.J. Abrams, called Superman: Flyby, I think is what it was called, and it never came to light,” Bomer explained. “It looked like I was the director’s choice for the role… I signed a three-picture deal at Warner Bros.”
Matt Bomer was then asked if being gay could have been a reason for losing the part. He does believe that was the case.
“Yeah, that’s my understanding… That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you. How, and why, and who, I don’t know, but yeah, that’s my understanding.”
As Bomer mentions, Superman: Flyby simply never happened. It was instead followed by Superman Returns, which itself never received a sequel. The next Superman movie would be Man of Steel – which launched the ill-fated DCEU – and the rest has been history.
It’s certainly unfortunate if being gay was the real reason Bomer never received the part. Likewise, it’s unknown if that ultimately kept the film from coming together as well. For Superman fans, it looks like yet another addition to the long list of projects that never happened. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for more Superman and DC news as we have it.