The ‘American Sniper’ Director Remembers Being Offered To Suit Up For The Man Of Steel Movie But He Ultimately Rejected It Because He Wanted To Play His Childhood Superhero Instead.

Clint Eastwood rejected the chance to play Superman. The Hollywood legend, 93, was approached for the role of Superman for the eponymous 1978 film but rejected it as he wanted to play Marvel hero Namor the Sub-Mariner.

“I was like, ‘Superman? Nah, nah, that’s not for me.’ Not that there’s anything wrong with it. It’s for somebody, but not me. The Sub-Mariner, that’s the one I always liked. I had all of those comics when I was a kid,” the “Dirty Harry” actor recalled in an interview with Far Out magazine.

Namor the Sub-Mariner first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1939. He is the son of the princess of Atlantis and pledges his life to defend the underwater city. The character has only recently made it to the silver screen in 2022’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” – played by Tenoch Huerta.

Whilst the possibilities of Eastwood suiting up for a Marvel movie are slim, there is still a chance he can be involved behind the camera if the superhero project is aimed at a more mature audience.

During a Q and A session at CinemaCon in 2015, the actor and director said, “I read comic books when I was a kid, I don’t read them now. I prefer adult-oriented stuff. I mean that in the PG-13 or R sense, but that’s as far as it goes.”