10 Alternate Versions Of Films To Watch Before The Snyder Cut
3. Richard Donner's Cut - Superman II
Superman and Superman II were originally shot together by Richard Donner. This was both to keep the momentum moving on the material and to keep the budget down where possible.
There were many issues that arose during the original shoot, not least in running over budget but with tensions on set between Donner and the producers on the film.
With deadlines looming, production was halted on Superman II (with 75% already completed) to concentrate on completing Superman on time. With production shut down, some decisions were made.
First, Donner was fired. He received the news via telegram that his friend Richard Lester would take over the reigns. This required an enormous amount of reshoots, resulting in only 30% of the footage in the film created by Donner.
Lester's hiring led to many of the crew not returning after the five month hiatus, most notably Gene Hackman, who refused point blank to return. All footage of him belongs to the Donner footage, bar some scenes where a stand in was used.
Second, much of Marlon Brando's footage was cut as he was now demanding a hefty portion of the gross box office receipts for appearing in the film.
In 2006, thanks to the rediscovery of some of Brando's footage and renewed interest around the release of Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, the Donner Cut was released to much the same reviews that the original had received. While very enjoyable, it has been called something that is a curio for the fans to digest, rather than an essential viewing experience.