DC’s Strange Adventures: Harrison Ford or John Goodman Could Have Starred in Kevin Smith’s Episode

The live-action DC multiverse is going through some pretty surprising changes as of late, with projects being paused or scrapped entirely amid the recent Warner Bros. Discovery merger. One project that has been confirmed to be a casualty of these changes is Strange Adventures, a live-action anthology series that was set to make its debut on HBO Max. The series would have consisted of one-hour-long “cautionary tales” showing the dark side of superheroes and their power, and it was recently revealed that fan-favorite director Kevin Smith had been tapped to direct and co-write an episode. During recent podcast appearances, Smith has shed a bit more light on his episode, which would have hypothetically followed iconic Superman characters Perry White and Jimmy Olsen crossing paths with a Nicolas Cage-portrayed Bizarro. In a recent episode of his Fatman Beyond podcast, Smith revealed who was initially being eyed to play Perry, with both John Goodman and Harrison Ford being mentioned.

“Our Perry White? I was going for John Goodman,” Smith revealed. “The powers above had different thoughts. Not my idea, but somebody was just like, ‘Could be that Harrison Ford is interested.’”

Smith also shared that he had wanted Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña to play Jimmy Olsen. Maridueña has since gone on to be cast as Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle in DC’s big-screen Blue Beetle movie.

Strange Adventures was originally set to be a DC super hero anthology that was to feature characters from across the publisher’s canon. The one-hour drama would have explored close-ended stories about the intersecting lives of ordinary humans and superhumans. The series was originally announced alongside HBO Max’s Green Lantern series, which is reportedly still in development.

“Both of these original DC properties we’ll be creating for HBO Max will be unlike anything seen on television,” producer Greg Berlanti said of both shows at the time. “An anthology series of cautionary tales set in a world where superpowers exist, and, in what promises to be our biggest DC show ever made, we will be going to space with a Green Lantern television series, but I can’t reveal any more about that just yet.”

Following Warner Bros. Discovery’s cancellation of Batgirl, and comments from CEO David Zaslav indicating that they would be refocusing DC’s live-action output with a Marvel Studios-esque ten-year plan, many have wondered what HBO Max-exclusive projects could survive that restructuring. The streamer’s Black Canary film reportedly remains in development, as is J.J. Abrams’ Constantine series, and recent reports indicate that existing originals like Harley Quinn, Titans, Peacemaker, and Pennyworth could still carry through.