Very few movies are immune from being rebooted, but some are much better off left alone. Given its status as one of the most colossal failures in the history of DC live-action adaptation, we’d wager that Steel will be left in the trash pile for some time to come.
A Rotten Tomatoes score of only 12 percent means that while it isn’t quite the comic book company’s worst-reviewed movie ever, but the fact it ranks ahead of only Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Catwoman, and Supergirl tells its own story, never mind a box office haul of less than $2 million against a $16 million budget ensuring a status the lowest-grossing wide theatrical release in DC history.
In fact, the ongoing ironic embracing of Steel and its dangerous ascent towards misunderstood masterpiece status has been neatly underlined by a Reddit thread asking who should play the title role if and when the character ends up being rebooted at the hands of James Gunn and Peter Safran. The number one fan-casting candidate by a country mile? Shaquille O’Neal, of course.
Shaq almost made a cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods that would have cleaved a very niche corner of the internet in two, but that’s about as close as he’s gotten to DC in the quarter of a century since Steel crashed and burned, with very good reason. Maybe Gunn does have plans somewhere down the line, but outside of a cameo, it’s doubtful we’ll ever see the NBA legend play a superhero ever again, so at least there are small mercies to be found.