Bidding for this lot will end on Wednesday, March 25th. The auction will begin at 9:30 AM (PDT) / 12:30 PM (EDT) / 4:30 PM (GMT) and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Thursday, March 26th or Friday, March 27th.

A rarely-seen archive of paperwork, including a script and numerous printed storyboards, from the development and pre-production processes on Tim Burton's unproduced film Superman Lives. The film was intended to follow Superman (Nicolas Cage) as he navigated a feeling of displacement and estrangement from humans like Lois Lane (Sandra Bullock) and Jimmy Olsen (Chris Rock) while being forced to go head-to-head with such supervillains as Brainiac (Christopher Walken), Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey), and Doomsday.

Devised as an adaptation of the famous "The Death of Superman" storyline from the pages of DC Comics, the film was set to culminate in Brainiac's orchestration of both Superman's death and the release of Doomsday upon Metropolis. Ultimately, however, its production was cancelled by Warner Bros. due to budgeting, a troubled production history, and lowered box office revenues tied to Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin.

Today, Superman Lives is regarded as one of the most legendary unproduced films in Hollywood history and was the subject of Jon Schnepp's 2015 documentary, The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? Surviving material from the project is extremely scarce, with this vast archive offering unique insight into the film through an array of previously unseen and unpublished paperwork.

Contained in these three vinyl three-ring binders is a rich archive of paperwork from the film's production. One binder with a "The Death of Superman!" comic book cover on front contains a total of 235 pages of production paperwork divided into 24 sections, including "Crew List," "Cast List," "Budget," and "Script Notes" in addition to a 63-page script. The binder labeled "Elevator and Doomsday Storyboards" contains 10 pages of notes from the production, 41 pages of printed storyboards for a sequence involving a futuristic high-tech elevator, and 208 pages of printed storyboards for the sequence in which Doomsday was released upon Earth. The last binder labeled "Superman Merchandising" contains 104 pages of interoffice memos, timeline proposals, toy concept prints, and other paperwork from the proposed merchandising campaign, most of which are dated "1997."

This lot exhibits grime throughout the binders, including water damage along the "Elevator and Doomsday Storyboards" binder's binding. Dimensions: (largest) 13" x 12" x 3" (33 cm x 30.5 cm x 7.75 cm)

Estimate: $25,000 - 50,000