Brendan Fraser Says Taking Superman Role in Scrapped Film Left Him Anxious: “Superman’s Gonna Be Chipped on My Gravestone”

Brendan Fraser nearly became the Man of Steel, but the idea of wearing Superman’s cape left him questioning if he really wanted to carry that weight for the rest of his life. On Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Fraser opened up about his screen test for a big-budget Superman project that never got off the ground, one led by JJ Abrams and, for a time, Brett Ratner. The film was ultimately scrapped in favour of Bryan Singer’s 2006 Superman Returns, but Fraser’s relationship with the role, and that pivotal moment in his career, remains a fascinating might-have-been.

Fraser didn’t just audition; he got close. He remembers the studio locking him away with a script printed in black text on crimson paper—impossible to copy, deadly serious about secrecy. And while the part would have catapulted him into the rarefied air of superhero megastardom, Fraser couldn’t ignore lingering doubts about the lifelong commitment it represented.

Becoming Superman isn’t just a role. It’s a defining career move, one that can cling for decades. Fraser told Horowitz, “You feel a little certain anxiety anyway when you’re going up on some big job, 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. I mean, I felt I was because [it was a] big opportunity, and excitement, et cetera, et cetera.”

Even with all the enthusiasm, Fraser worried about being typecast. He feared that if cast as Superman, his name would be forever tied to the symbol, possibly eclipsing the wide range of work he wanted for his own career. The appeal was enormous, “big opportunity, and excitement”, but so was the pressure. Fraser made it clear there’s nothing shameful about being known as Superman, “one of the most iconic superheroes of all time,” but he admitted honest uncertainty: Did he want the world seeing him only as Superman?

Fraser’s experience with the Superman script was secretive and surreal. Recalling his audition, he said, “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.” He continues, “I loved that screenplay… It was Shakespeare in space. It was a really good screenplay.”

He found himself deeply connected to the script. The language and structure, he compared it to a Shakespeare play, just set against a cosmic backdrop. Even if the film itself “never came close to seeing the light of day,” the creative spark still stuck with Fraser. The whole experience, from the laser-tight security to the style of the script, left a deep impression.

The movie itself was shelved when Warner Bros. shifted gears toward Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, effectively closing the book on Fraser’s chance to become Clark Kent. If things had gone differently, Hollywood’s superhero landscape might look dramatically altered.

Superman isn’t finished with JJ Abrams. In 2021, news broke that Abrams was producing a new Superman project, this time with novelist Ta-Nehisi Coates writing. The details are still tightly under wraps, but what we do know is that this version of Clark Kent will exist in a separate timeline, completely unrelated to James Gunn’s current interpretation of the character.

For Fraser? The cape may never have landed on his shoulders, but his honest take on the burden and temptation of Superman remains a rare behind-the-curtain glance at Hollywood’s most high-stakes auditions.

Brendan Fraser almost became Superman, but the anxiety of being locked into an iconic role made him think twice. He respected the scope and beauty of the Abrams script, calling it “Shakespeare in space.” But in the end, fate and Warner Bros. chose a different path. For fans, it’s just one more reason to wonder what Fraser’s Man of Steel might have looked like, and how it could have changed the face of superhero cinema.