In 1978, the tagline for Superman was “you’ll believe a man can fly.” But by the time Justice League rolled around in 2017, audiences just couldn’t believe Henry Cavill’s CGI lips were so unconvincing. Those were truly some of the most disappointing special effects money could buy, all because Cavill wasn’t allowed to shave his ‘stache from Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Cavill’s had a few laughs about mustache-gate, but Justice League fans aren’t quite as amused. Today’s Nerdist News revisits the controversy now that Mission Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie has revealed it could have all been avoided.
Join host and facial hair destroyer, Jessica Chobot, as she takes us back to the frantic days when both Fallout and Justice League were in production. DC’s superhero epic needed extensive retooling, and they called Superman to return for the reshoots. However, Cavill wasn’t contractually allowed to shave without permission from McQuarrie and the studio.
It turns out McQuarrie was a gentleman about the whole thing and he even offered to let Cavill shave and delay the production of his own film in return for a nominal fee of $3 million. That’s the amount McQuarrie’s team estimated it would cost to CGI a fake mustache onto his face, and they didn’t want to have their own facial hair fiasco. McQuarrie’s compromise could have been beneficial for all sides.
However, Paramount killed the deal as soon as they heard about it, and the world’s most famous CGI’d lips were soon born. The craziest thing is Tom Cruise’s broken ankle shut down Fallout production shortly thereafter, meaning the delay would have given Cavill enough time to get his mustache back into fine working order. But such is life in Hollywood.
What do you think about the secret origin of mustache-gate? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images: Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures
