Jude Law turned down the opportunity to play Superman in the early 2000s because “it just felt off”.

The Talented Mr. Ripley star was up for the Man of Steel role in the failed 2003 film Superman: Flyby but it didn’t feel like the right fit.

“This is true. Yeah. And there was a process of flirtation going on,” he said on The Playlist’s Discourse podcast. “And I always resisted because it just felt like (off).”

He acknowledged that his resistance to the superhero role may seem ridiculous now he’s played Yon-Rogg in Captain Marvel and Albus Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts franchise and explained that Superman “felt like a step too far” at the time.

The British actor went on to reveal that executives encouraged him to try on a new suit – not Christopher Reeves’ original one – in a bid to convince him to go for the part.

“Did they have a script? I don’t remember reading one. This is a long time ago. They brought me the suit. They thought, ‘This might change your mind,'” he recalled.

“Anyway, I tried it on and I looked in the mirror and part of me initially was like, ‘Wow, this would be a (good thing),’ and then I just thought, ‘No, you can’t – you can’t do this. You can’t,'” he continued. “And I didn’t sell myself to myself. And I stepped away and the film never happened anyway. So maybe it probably wouldn’t have done anything.”

Earlier this week, Matt Bomer claimed he was the director’s choice for the lead in Superman: Flyby but he lost the role after being outed as gay.

“That’s my understanding. That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponised against you. How, and why, and who (outed me), I don’t know,” he said on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast.

Superman: Flyby was never made. The superhero ultimately made his film comeback with Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, starring Brandon Routh, in 2006.

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