Jared Padalecki recalls that he had a screen test for a scrapped 2004 Superman movie. Padalecki recently concluded filming for the hit CW show Supernatural, where he's played the character of Sam Winchester for the past 15 years. The series temporarily shut down production thanks to COVID-19, meaning the cast just wrapped on filming the series finale earlier this month.
Superman has been one of DC's main stars - where he makes up the Trinity alongside Batman and Wonder Woman - since his initial debut in Action Comics. Since then, there have been various iterations of Superman in live-action films. As such, a number of actors have risen to fame playing the Man of Steel, including Christopher Reeve and Henry Cavill.
Padalecki stopped by Inside of You podcast, where he spoke to host Michael Rosenbaum about his screen test for the scrapped Superman: Flyby film. When asked by Rosenbaum if he ever read for the part of Lex Luthor, Padalecki corrects him, saying that he actually read for Clark Kent. He goes on to say that the role he was reading for wasn't in Smallville; instead, it was for the planned Superman: Flyby movie, which was headed by famed action film director McG.
"I screened tested for - for the movie in '04. When it was McG. Yeah, I was doing House of Wax and they flew me from Australia to L.A. to screen test - I put the suit on and everything. They took my phone away so I couldn't take pictures."
Padalecki's experience is in reference to the scrapped Superman: Flyby film, which was initially supposed to be a new origin story for Clark Kent. When the script was leaked, the story was universally panned by most who read it, although this didn't seem to faze Warner Bros., who moved ahead with the project. In the end, the entire film was scrapped after McG bowed out of the project and Superman Returns was released instead. While it's unfortunate that Padalecki never got his moment on the big screen in Superman's iconic suit, perhaps it's for the best considering the generally negative responses to the script.
With Supernatural coming to an end soon, it seems Padalecki is ready to embrace the future, although saying goodbye to Sam Winchester will undoubtedly be a bittersweet moment. Even so, while the role of Superman has already been locked into the DC Cinematic Universe by Cavill, there are bound to be a slew of new roles considering the 29 DCEU films that the studio plans on releasing. Although Padalecki might not wear the "S" on his chest, a packed DC film line-up opens the possibility for a cameo; that being said, there's nobody who is better suited to playing a hero than Padalecki.
Source: Inside of You podcast