It turns out that the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn’t the only franchise eyeing up Charlie Cox at one point. The Daredevil star was reportedly considered for the leading role in the DC Superman movie from director Matthew Vaughn which never got made.
In 2008, Warner Bros considered several filmmakers to helm a new Superman movie before settling on Zack Snyder, who would direct Man of Steel with Henry Cavil as Clark Kent. Matthew Vaughn, known for his work on Kingsman and Kick-Ass, was one of the filmmakers looked at by the studio. Vaughn teamed up with friend and comic-book writer Mark Millar to discuss the now-scrapped flick, and during the two’s conversations, Cox came up as their pick for the spandex-wearing hero.
In an interview with The Aspiring Kryptonian, Millar spilled all the details about what happened to the Vaughn movie and potential Cox debut. “Matthew Vaughn and I had talked about doing a Superman film years ago. It was around the time Kick-Ass was coming out, and it’s funny. I’ve seen so many people say, ‘Millar’s pitch.’ I never wrote a pitch,” Millar explained.
“I had an idea of what it could be, but I never really told Matthew what it was, and Matthew never told DC what it was because he didn’t know. [He] and I had a lot of chats about who could play Superman. We never really talked about story. We did talk about specifics, like actors. Weirdly, his idea was really interesting, which was Charlie Cox, the guy who played Daredevil.”
Millar elaborated on why Vaughn was drawn to the actor, despite Cox not fitting the typical Kryptonian mould. “Matthew had just worked with Charlie on Stardust a year or two before,” he said. “He’s like, ‘There’s just something really likeable about him.’ And he said, ‘I know he’s not big, and Superman’s always big’ — Charlie’s only about 5’8″, 5’9″ or something — He says, ‘But he looks a bit like the Golden Age Superman, when he’s a bit more like a regular person.'”
If Cox did get the gig, he would have been the shortest Superman to date, and very different from Cavill’s intimidating build. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Cox will be cast as Clark anytime soon, but fans may get to see him back as Daredevil for an all-new season on Disney Plus in the future.
Warner Bros is reportedly looking to make a new Superman movie, with Black Panther writer Ta-Nehisi Coates penning the script. Although it isn’t confirmed just yet, it is assumed that the film will follow the DCEU’s first black Superman, Calvin Ellis, whose story takes place in an alternate universe to Clark Kent.