A new photo has surfaced online showing Josh Hartnett dressed as DC’s Man of Steel for a canceled Superman movie.
Per ComicBook.com, filmmaker Ryan Unicomb shared a photo of Hartnett as Clark Kent/Superman on his Instagram account. “Brett Ratner’s SUPERMAN from JJ’s FLYBY script. Josh Hartnett woulda CRUSHED. He passed on it eventually & Matt Bomer took the top spot before the studio tossed it,” the caption for the photo, which can be viewed below, reads.
What happened with DC’s Superman: Flyby?
In the early 2000s, J.J. Abrams wrote a script for a Superman movie tentatively titled Superman: Flyby. Ratner was hired to direct the film in September 2022, while Christopher Reeve was brought on as a project consultant.
Hartnett wasn’t the only person being considered to play the Last Son of Krypton at the time. Brendan Fraser told Howard Stern in February 2023, via Variety, “Everyone in town was reading for Superman. Like, again, we’re testing 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 ultimately left the project in 2003 following casting delays, an increasing budget, and other issues. McG was hired as his replacement but soon left the project for similar reasons as Ratner.
Following more delays, X-Men’s Bryan Singer was brought on Superman: Flyby, which eventually morphed into 2006’s Superman Returns. Ratner, meanwhile, went on to direct 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, 2005’s Sin City, 2006’s Lucky Number Slevin, 2007’s 30 Days of Night, and 2023’s Oppenheimer. He also played the role of Ethan Chandler on Showtime’s Penny Dreadful.
