According to a recent airing of the 2018 documentary ‘I Am Paul Walker,’ Paul Walker rejected the mantle of Superman despite a multi-million dollar deal he could receive.
Aired on The CW, ‘I Am Paul Walker’ revealed that Walker had the opportunity to don Superman’s red cape. In the documentary, Walker’s manager, Matt Luber, and stunt double, Oakley Lehman, both confirmed that the late actor was in talks for the role. As per Deadline, Luber said:
“[Walker] was screen testing for Superman. I think it was a $10 million deal, and he was the frontrunner.”
His stunt double then revealed the reason Walker turned down the opportunity, implying the actor was aware of the commitment that playing Superman would bring:
“I knew he did not want to do three or four Superman [films] and be Superman for the rest of his life.”
According to Luber, this was true — Walker told him directly that ‘this wasn’t him’:
“‘I’ve got an ‘S’ on, I got a cape, boots, tights … this is not me. I’m getting the f*ck out of here. Gotta go. F*ck you.’ And he was gone.”
So, it appears Walker was afraid of the ‘Superman curse,‘ which has affected the actors who have played the role of Superman on film and television.
Walker Said This Decision Wasn’t That Hard
In a past interview with Comingsoon.com, Walker revealed that he talked about the offer with Richard Donner, who directed the original ‘Superman’ movie:
“We had conversations, and by the end of it, the closing thing I said was, ‘Do you think I need it, should I do it?’ He said, ‘For what sake?’ I said, ‘Financially.’ He said, ‘No kid, you do it if you want to do it.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t think I want to die as Superman.’ And he said, ‘Well, there’s your answer, don’t do it.’ And that was it.”
Asked if it was hard turning down the Superman role, Walker continued:
“It wasn’t that hard. The real pressure came from my representatives and thinking about my family. I want everyone to live sweetly, my mom and dad, especially because they don’t have a lot of money. I want one day to have the family compound, maybe one day on the big island of Hawaii, and having a jet to fly everyone out for Christmas is pretty sweet. I think in those terms. I feel like I don’t know if I’d be letting them down or letting myself down if I didn’t one day see it. That was the hardest part because that was it, potentially.”
How Much Did Paul Walker Earn From the ‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise?
At the time of his tragic death in a car accident on November 30, 2013, Walker had a net worth of $25 million. A lawsuit filed posthumously estimated his potential future earnings from film roles between $30-80 million. Besides, Walker earned $1 million for the first two ‘Fast & Furious’ films, $7 million for the third, and $15 million each for the subsequent films, totaling $54 million from the franchise.
