Superman & Lois was able to channel some of the majesty of Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie thanks to the COVID-19 shutdown.
EW spoke with Lee Toland Krieger, who directed the pilot of the new CW series and revealed that quarantine allowed them to film in a rather rare location: an actual newspaper office. "We wanted a Daily Planet that looked more like the [Richard] Donner Daily Planet," Krieger said. "That kind of All the President's Men sort of giant suite with the fluorescent ceiling that goes on forever is almost impossible to find in Vancouver. We got as close as we could. We actually shot at the Vancouver Daily Sun newspaper, which had never had photography there because they're a working newspaper. Just because of COVID, nobody was there and we got to shoot in there."
Though filming shut down along with most other industries in March 2020 when the pandemic came to North America, Hollywood eventually picked things back up. But the continued closure of the Daily Sun allowed the crew of Superman & Lois to film on more than just a set or in a standard office building. This was surely a boon, as the show is just as much about Elizabeth Tulloch's Lois Lane as it is Tyler Hoechlin's Superman. It's the reason why Lois will face her own villain in Morgan Edge and have her own stable of characters in the newspaper world.
Krieger went on to praise Donner's version of Superman, which would go on to inspire Superman Returns and now, it seems, Superman & Lois. "Looking at the blocking in the Donner movie is, dare I say, like watching some of Billy Wilder's work. His blocking, especially in the Daily Planet with Perry White and Clark and Lois and the oners [long takes] there are just really brilliantly laid out and kind of not what you would expect in a movie like that."
So far, the new series has received mostly positive reviews, Its darker tone and real-world story elements have impressed many but fallen flat for some. Still, it currently holds an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Superman & Lois stars Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Dylan Walsh, Alex Garfin, Jordan Elsass, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Inde Navarrette and Wolé Parks. The series premieres Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
Source: EW