JJ Abrams Wrote A Script For Superman Back In 2002

Over the last few years, we've learned that a number of big name directors attempted to write and produce their own idea for a Superman movie.  Kevin Smith and Tim Burton both tried to write a movie based on the comic book storyline The Death of Superman, which was released from 1992 to 1993.  Tim Burton even went so far as to not only have a script made, but hired Nicholas Cage to play Clark Kent/Superman in the film, and even went into costume production.  There's a documentary on this film that was never made called The Death of Superman Lives.  Another director that tried to get his Superman script made was none other than JJ Abrams.  It was back in 2002, Abrams was best known for his television shows Alias and Felicity, but hadn't gained the notoriety he now commands after creating Lost and directing Mission Impossible III. 

There were actually two drafts of Abrams' vision, titled Superman: Flyby.  In the first draft, which was 139 pages long, in fact very long for a movie script, Abrams introduces us to Krypton, much like Man of Steel did when it came out.  In this script, Krypton isn't destroyed, and Kal-El is sent to Earth to protect him from Kata-Zor, Kal-El's evil uncle and brother to Zor-El.  He also introduces Ty-Zor, who is Kal-El angrier cousin, but is essentially General Zod from the comics.  Zor-El is apparently the ruler of the planet, and Kal is the heir to the throne, but before he can do this, he must fulfill a "Prophecy" first.

After Kal-El reaches Earth, Abrams explains that Clark's glasses aren't used as a disguise, but are lead-based lenses that help him control his vision powers as a young boy.  When he gets to college, he meets Lois Lane at a frat party, and upon learning that she's a journalist, declares his major in the same field of study.  After Superman first reveals himself to the world, Jonathan Kent dies from a heart attack after receiving the news of appearance. 

Here's where things get a little weird.  We learn that Lex Luthor is CIA agent that works for their "Special Operations Division" which spends their time chasing down UFO evidence.  He is described as a "very clever, well-written, fun character, and seems his general mistrust of Superman is simply a result of his unique job description...until it's revealed in the final pages that he is actually a Kryptonian sleeper agent, with all of the abilities of Superman."  Thank you DenofGeek for last part that I quoted.

Ty-Zor makes his way to Earth in search of Kal-El, an all out battle takes place that encompasses the entire planet, as opposed to just a couple of cities like in Man of Steel.  During the battle, Superman dies a "Doomsday-less" death, but later in the film in resurrected, fulfilling the prophecy.  At the end of the film, Superman boards the spacecraft that he arrived in to fly back to Krypton to pursue his destiny, which starts at the beginning of the second movie.  Just so you know, and in case I hadn't mentioned this before, this movie was designed to be the first in a new Superman trilogy.

The second script was a bit shorter, and only a few minor changes were made.  In the second version, Lex is no longer a Kryptonian sleeper agent, but "a disheveled crackpot and UFO enthusiast, who stumbles on a Kryptonian pod (sent, of course, by Kata-Zor to track down Kal-El) with a dying soldier inside.  The alien encounter leaves Lex bald, but also 'enlightened' and he goes from crackpot to super genius thanks to a rather nebulous Kryptonian mind-meld that isn't adequately explained.  Lex is no longer a CIA agent in this draft, and soon becomes the more familiar billionaire head of LexCorp that fans had come to expect...and he's running for President."  Thank you again, DenofGeek!

Since all of this was taking place back in 2002 and 2003, well before the rise of Marvel, it's safe to say that the idea behind this film was to create a franchise, not an entire comic book universe that would spawn a number of different movies featuring different DC characters.  If it had been made, I'm sure that it would have given us a great trilogy, but not without it's critics, especially in regards to Krypton never having been destroyed.  It was damaged in one of the drafts, and ended up looking like an apple that someone had taken a bite out of, but was still habitable.

So what do you think about Abrams' vision of Superman?  Would it have been something that you would have liked to have seen, or are the changes to the Superman mythos a little too much to take?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below.