Before Hollywood reached its current Golden Age of comic book movies, several attempts were made to interpret the larger than life characters that we know today. These would-be heroes lost their production battles and now remain nothing more than cautionary tales.

Superman Lives– After Christopher Reeve made the role famous, the next Superman movie was set to star Nicolas Cage, be written by Kevin Smith, and directed by Tim Burton. They made it all the way to concept art, test photos, and dress rehearsals before the plug was pulled before filming because of creative differences.

Hugh Jackman has played the role of Wolverine seven times, including the upcoming X-Men sequel, which sets the record for any actor in a superhero role. Could this record have been set by Dougray Scott, the original choice for the role who had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts?

Marlon Wayans was cast in Batman Returns as Robin, but his role was cut because there were too many characters to develop, then recast in Batman Forever. “I got paid for almost being Robin. Actually, I was Robin: they paid me, and decided that wanted someone else. I was like ‘Hey, as long as the check clears, baby,'” said Wayans.