Years before Man of Steel became an international hit, Henry Cavill was attached to star as Clark Kent/Superman in the ill-fated Superman: Flyby, which was written by J.J. Abrams with McG set to direct and Robert Downey Jr. starring as Lex Luthor. The project ultimately fell apart, reportedly because of McG's fear of flying, since Warner Bros. wanted to shoot in Australia and the director opted for an American production. Ultimately, Bryan Singer took the reins and reworked it into the 2006 adventure Superman Returns. Today, we have the first photo of Henry Cavill from his 2004 screen test, plus a photo of the red and blue suit he was wearing.

Of course, it turned out just fine for Henry Cavill, but it does lead one to wonder what might have been, especially with a J.J. Abrams script and Robert Downey Jr. as Luthor.