Most fans probably consider the last ten years or so the Golden Age of the superhero movie. With the unheralded success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and expansion of the DCEU, comic book movies rule the box office. They owe a lot -- perhaps everything -- to the 1978 Superman movie directed by Richard Donner.
DC Comics tried for years to get a Superman movie off the ground, but it wasn't until the arrival of Donner and the first two Superman films that the true comic book movie was born. These iconic movies set the foundation for everything that came in the decades after.
10 Richard Donner Wasn't The First Director
Richard Donner directed the 1978 Superman and a great deal of Superman II. He was let go due to tensions with the Salkind brothers, the producers behind the films. It was a rocky marriage from the start, in part because he wasn't their first choice.
In fact, the film had a director, Guy Hamilton, but he dropped out when the production moved from Rome to England. The producers also considered Steven Spielberg, Sam Peckinpah, and others before offering Donner the gig.
9 It's Actually An Indie Movie
The first movie's road to the theater is an odd one. Development of the film didn't start with a studio, but rather the Salkinds themselves. Ilya and Alexander Salkind obtained the rights to make a movie about the Man Of Steel, but they had no distributor for the movie. They went into production funding the entire budget themselves.
Warner Bros. eventually picked up the distribution rights but didn't contribute any funds, meaning the movie is one of the earliest and most successful independent films.
8 The First Script Was 500 Pages Long
The initial script was a huge mess. The Salkinds famously just threw everything at the wall, including hiring Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather, to write the script. It ended up being over 500 pages long, the equivalent of five movies.
The script also wasn't very serious and apparently took a lot of cues from the 1966 Batman series which while fun, might have been the worst take on the Dark Knight. Donner, a lifelong Superman fan, called in Tom Mankiewicz for a major rewrite.
7 Superman And Superman II Were Filmed Back To Back
Even so, the Salkinds didn't exactly let go of filming two Superman movies at once to cover cuts. Though the story was essentially broken between the two movies, Superman and Superman II were intended to be filmed at once. The practicality of this quickly collapsed and the decision was made to film them back-to-back.
Marvel Studios intended to do the same thing with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, but ultimately also broke up filming of the two movies. This allowed the studio to refine the second movie and for fans to come up with endless 'endgame' memes.
6 The Ending of Superman Came From Superman II
Avengers: Endgame deals heavily with time travel, and so does the first Superman movie. The climax of the first film shows Superman flying so fast he spins the Earth backward which reverses time. This is definitely a power that fans didn't know Superman had (or is even possible).
The ending of the movie actually was transplanted from the original ending of Superman II. Once Warner Bros. executives saw this time travel effect, they wanted it for the end of the first film, leaving the second to figure out a new climax.
5 The Two Movies Connected With The Escape of Zod
The original ending of the 1978 film would have ended with something of a cliffhanger. Instead of going back in time, Superman throws into space the nuclear missiles Lex Luthor, one of the greatest villains in comics, has launched. The explosion frees the Kryptonian traitor General Zod, perhaps a greater rival to Superman than Luthor, from the Phantom Zone.
Warner Bros. wanted a punchier ending and wasn't sure of the success of the first film, so the escape of Zod and his acolytes Ursa and Non waited for the opening of the next movie.
4 Christopher Reeve Wasn't The First Choice
Richard Donner was adamant he wanted an unknown for the role of Superman because he believed a star actor would overshadow the part. The Salkinds had other ideas.
They offered the role to virtually every major actor at the time, including Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Other actors considered included Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, and Steve McQueen. It's hard to imagine anyone else other than Christopher Reeve, one of the most powerful Superman in live-action in so many ways.
3 Christopher Reeve Trained With Darth Vader
Reeve was the best actor for the role but didn't exactly fit the bill physique-wise. Reeve was a lithe athlete but needed to add muscle. David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars films, had tried out for Superman. He went on to train Reeve for the part.
Reeve added fifty pounds for the part, filling out his costume (though he would be considered still on the skinny side by today's standards). It's fun to imagine who would win a battle between Darth Vader and Superman and that it might have played out in some way in a gym.
2 A Musical Number Was Cut
A lot of different ideas were flying around during the production of the first Superman movies. The Salkinds seemed to entertain every and any idea, one of which was a musical number.
At one point, Margot Kidder lobbied to sing the song "Can You Read My Mind?" from the scene where Superman takes Lois Lane flying over Metropolis. She even recorded a take, which Donner ultimately rejected. Lois Lane is often the superhero in the comics but it's hard to imagine this would have been a win.
1 The Movie Created The Idea Of The Kryptonian Family Crests
As strange as some ideas in the movie were, one of them had a lasting impact on Superman lore. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz worked with Donner to make the movie as grounded as they could, which led to a discussion of how Superman comes to his iconic S symbol he wears on his chest. Mankiewicz suggested putting it on Jor-El as well as a kind of family crest.
The concept of the family crests filtered down into the comics, as all the major houses of Krypton adopted them. This was also taken up in later movies, like Man Of Steel, which also continued to make its own changes from the comics.