Recently, news broke about Matt Bomer missing the chance to play the Man of Steel on Superman: Flyby due to the actor’s sexual orientation. The announcement shook the Superman community to its core, as early 2000s Bomer clearly looked the part to embody the legendary character on the big screen. Now, an old Japanese ad with Matt Bomer as Superman has surfaced, proving the actor had what it took to play the iconic superhero.
Matt Bomer As Superman
While Flyby never came to be – fortunately – Bomer joins the long list of actors that almost became Superman. That prestigious list includes names such as Jude Law, who was also in consideration for Superman: Flyby (and Superman Returns), and Nicolas Cage, who kind of appeared in The Flash.
That said, Bomer did become Superman – even if most people didn’t get to see him donning the iconic red and blue tights. That is unless you were a Japanese person looking to buy a fuel-efficient Toyota vehicle in the late 2000s. It sounds awfully specific, I know, but there’s a reason for that.
The Kryptonian Prius
When you think of the “Man of Steel,” I bet the last car you’d think of is a Prius. After all, the Kryptonian’s imposing physique would probably be better represented by an F-150 or some other type of all-American offroader, but Japan sees things differently. For them, Superman was all about hybrid vehicles.
For the release of their 2009 Prius, Toyota went back to the Man of Steel classics with an ad that evoked that legendary Richard Donner flair. Even though Brandon Routh (or perhaps Smallville‘s Tom Welling) was the live-action face of the Kryptonian at the time, Toyota went with Matt Bomer for the part. And he knocked it out of the park.
In the ad, Bomer plays both Clark Kent and Superman, as he tries to get the scoop on the new Prius. The entire commercial is a blast of nostalgia for classic Superman fans, as it clearly evokes the look and feel of the first live-action Superman films of the 70s and 80s.
The Superman That Should Have Been
Bomer plays the Man of Steel with an approachability that’s equal parts reassuring and heroic. Sure, he played just briefly, but that ad alone proves Bomer would have reinvigorated the character for a new generation – perhaps even more than what Routh did in Superman Returns.
As one viewer points out, Bomer’s acting is “SO Christopher Reeve. He’d have been PERFECT.” Bomer adapts the mannerisms of Reeve to a T, including the meek humanity in his characterization of Clark Kent. It might have been just a commercial to sell Prii (that’s apparently the plural form of “Prius,” by the way,) but it’s a perfect showcase of what Superman: Flyby‘s hero might have looked like.
According to Bomer, the producers at the time “Weaponized” his sexuality against him, denying the world of his take on the Man of Steel. Considering how perfect he looks in the role, it’s a shame that this commercial is everything we have to imagine what could have been. Minus the ninja Kryptonians, of course.
Tell us, do you think the Japanese commercial is evidence that Matt Bomer would have been a great Superman?
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