1978's Superman really doesn't get the credit it deserves. It truly was years ahead of the cinematic curve. At the time the filmmakers surely had no idea what direction the film should take (there wasn't really anything to compare it to). And as you could imagine, casting the film's lead was the most difficult task of all. Though Christopher Reeve seemed tailor-made for the role (and certainly owned it, at least for the first two Superman movies let's not think about the rest), he by no means had the role in the bag. In fact, none other than Mr. Universe himself Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered the frontrunner before the filmmakers decided to cast the relatively unknown Reeve. The film's producer, Ilya Salkind, remembered bumping into the Austrian actor after he didn't get the part: "When I met [ Arnold ] at the premiere of the first film, he said 'Ahhh I should've been Superman'," Salkind remembers. "With that accent... not too good."
Jesse Gumbarge is editor and chief blogger at JarvisCity.com - He loves old-school horror films and starting pointless debates. You can reach out at: JesseGumbarge@JarvisCity.com
