10 Things You Didn’t Know About Christopher Reeve’s Superman
9. Superman Was Nearly Directed By Steven Spielberg
Finding a director was just as difficult for Superman: The Movie, with the producers struggling to nail down who they wanted. The Godfather writer Mario Puzo was brought in to pull together the script, while the Salkinds looked around for someone to inhabit the directors chair.
Puzos Godfather colleague Francis Ford Coppola was considered, as were William Friedkin of The Exorcist, Sam Peckinpah of The Wild Bunch, George Lucas (who turned it down because of Star Wars) and Richard Lester, who eventually went on to direct half of Superman II and all of Superman III.
Ilya Salkind expressed an interest in hiring Steven Spielberg, who only had Duel, The Sugarland Express and the short film Amblin to his name at this stage. But Ilyas husband Alexander Salkind was sceptical, and opted to wait until his big fish opens, referring to Jaws.
Jaws, of course, became a smash hit and pretty much co-invented the blockbuster along with Star Wars. Because of this success, Spielberg moved straight on to Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Sadly, fans will probably never get to see what his take on Superman would be like.
Guy Hamilton of Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun briefly held the directors chair, but for tax reasons had to leave the production. The Salkinds eventually hired Richard Donner, having been very impressed with his work on The Omen.