Superman Lives

Superman Lives is a cancelled superhero film directed by Tim Burton based on the 1992 comic book The Death of Superman, which was planned for a release in Summer 1998. A 2015 documentary film titled The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happend?, was released on DVD and was hosted by Jon Schnepp. The ninth episode of the second season of Supergirl was titled Supergirl Lives, as an homage to Superman Lives.

Plot
Braniac sends the Kryptonian monster Doomsday to kill Superman, as well as blocking out the sun to make Superman powerless, as Superman is fueled by sunlight. Braniac and Lex Luthor team up, but Superman is resurrected by a Kryptonian robot called "The Eradicator".

Cast

 * Nicolas Cage as Superman/Kal-El.
 * Sandra Bullock as Lois Lane (refused to star)
 * Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor

Why It Was Cancelled

 * 1) Warner Bros. couldn't afford the monotary risk of producing it.
 * 2) Warner Brothers' previous films, Batman & Robin, One Eight Seven, The Postman and Steel, were panned and were box office bombs/disappointments.
 * 3) The money that was going to be used went into making Wild Wild West.
 * 4) The filmmakers debated about making the film.

Result
Warner Bros. cancelled the project and rebooted the Superman series in 2006 with the release of Superman Returns with Brandon Routh as Clark Kent/Superman. Kevin Spacey was the only cast member from the unreleased film as Lex Luthor.