10 Promising Films Ruined By Changing The Director

2. Superman II

Richard Donner€™s Superman: The Movie is easily the grandfather to the modern comic book film. It€™s a little unbelievable that it took over twenty years for all the studios to catch on that what worked for Superman: The Movie was to treat the source material with respect, and Donner had to fight those who would turn it into a camp-fest. During the production of Superman II, Donner clashed a lot with the producers. While Donner wanted to treat this as a serious film, the producers pushed for more camp elements, and the conflict eventually got to the point where Richard Lester was brought in to act as an intermediary, and eventually replaced Donner entirely. Although Donner had completed most of the film, for Lester to get sole directing credit, he had to direct the majority of it. So the screenplay was revised and many scenes were reshot. Several actors refused to return to the set out of loyalty to Donner, especially Gene Hackman, and so body doubles were used when reshoots were needed. All the slapstick visual gags during the attack on Metropolis and the attack on the small town, which ruin the tone of the film, were Lester€™s additions, as were Superman€™s new powers. And when Lester was allowed to give the world his own pure vision of a Superman film, we got Superman III. Donner eventually did get to release his own cut in 2006, and it€™s amazing what he was able to do with already-existing footage, as reshoots were impossible.