9 Films That Forced You To See The Wrong Version In The Cinema

9. The Director Changed Halfway Through - Superman II

Directorial changes on big blockbusters that studios have a lot invested in is far from uncommon. This year we've had Edgar Wright leave Ant Man following script disagreements with Marvel and The Hobbit was originally going to be helmed by Guillermo Del Toro until pre-production took too damn long. But these both happened before cameras started rolling. For a more extreme example take a look at Richard Donner on Superman II. Superman: The Movie was pretty much a guaranteed hit, so both it and the sequel were shot back-to-back, with key plot points for the follow-up being worked into the original. It sounds simple on paper, but tensions quickly frayed between Donner and producers the Salkinds. Editing of the first movie was taking longer than expected, with the planned ending of the second film becoming the climax of the first (spinning the world to change time), which left the shooting of the sequel in limbo. As things reached fever pitch Donner was replaced by Richard Lester, after which everything ran smoothly, although it led to an inferior finished product. With a mixture of scenes overseen by the two directors (however Lester did reshoot many of Donner's scenes) there's a wealth of continuity issues and the tone is a little inconsistent. Audiences didn't mind, still marvelling at seeing a man fly on screen; the film was a hit despite all the behind-the-scenes issues. Eventually in 2006 the wrongs were righted; Donner got to make his version of the film, using footage he'd shot to bring the original script to life, resulting in a much better film.