Back in the 1990s Batman director Tim Burton signed on to direct a new Superman movie penned by Mallrats writer and comic book enthusiast Kevin Smith and starring Nicolas Cage, but sadly the film never made it to the big screen. Now Superman Lives, the man of steel’s adventure which failed to take off, is once again being resurrected, this time in a doc exploring why the film never got off the ground.

Nicolas CageFootage of Nicolas Cage testing a Superman suit is making waves online.

The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? features interviews and unseen footage which explain the story of what the film was intended to be and why it never happened. But one piece of footage unearthed in the doc has already sent the internet into a frenzy, as it shows Nicolas Cage testing out a superman costume.

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In the clip Cage is seen wearing a blue latex body suit (complete with red cape) and sporting long, dark hair. "You were saying it feels looser the more I wear it?" Cage is heard asking costume designer Colleen Atwood. ”This is great, look at that," he adds, marvelling at the suit.

"(The costume test footage) is the holy grail,” Derek Frey, the film’s assistant director is heard saying in the trailer for the doc. The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? also features interviews with Tim Burton and Kevin Smith as well as many of those involved in trying to create the ill-fated movie.

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The documentary, directed by Jon Schnepp, was partially funded through a Kickstarter campaign and will will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and video on demand from July 9 through www.tdoslwh.com.

See Nicolas in his Superman suit and watch the trailer for ‘The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened?’ here: