Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology, also referred to as simply the Superman Anthology, is the original series of Warner Brothers' big-budget superhero films based on the DC Comics character Superman.
History[]
Ilya and Alexander Salkind and Pierre Spengler purchased the Superman film rights in 1974. After numerous scripts, Richard Donner was hired to direct the film, filming Superman: The Movie (1978) and Superman II (1980) simultaneously. Donner had already shot 80% of Superman II before it was decided to finish shooting the first film. The Salkinds fired Donner after Superman's release, and commissioned Richard Lester as the director to finish Superman II. Lester also returned for Superman III (1983), and the Salkinds further produced the 1984 spin-off Supergirl before selling the rights to Cannon Films, resulting in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). In 2006, Donner released his directors cut of Superman II entitled: Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.
The franchise was christened with the title of Superman Anthology in 2006, with the launch of the box Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology which included 2-disc special edition DVD's of the original Superman films, just as had been done with Batman a year prior.
WB continues to struggle with big budget Superman films and only reluctantly release solo movie reboots. Many false starts with different directors and actors led to 2006's throwback movie Superman Returns. It's planned sequel Superman: The Man of Steel featuring Braniac was cancelled and reworked into reboot simply called Man of Steel. Due to Terence Stamp's iconic portral of General Zod and popularity, he was chosen as the villain rather than selecting a new villain from the comics that never appeared in the movies. This could be interpreted as "sure bet" to remake the premise of the most popular film prior. The darker, grittier take on the mythos did not prove popular. Since then, Superman has only appeared in crossovers or team-up movies. The future of solo Superman films is uncertain as he is not resonating as a solo character on a global level.
Films[]
The Motion Picture Anthology[]
Donner continuity[]
Alternative sequels[]
Related films[]
Recurring Cast[]
| Character | Film | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superman 78 | Superman II | Superman III | Superman IV | Superman Returns | |
| Superman | Christopher Reeve | Brandon Routh | |||
| Lois Lane | Margot Kidder | Kate Bosworth | |||
| Lex Luthor | Gene Hackman | Gene Hackman | Kevin Spacey | ||
| Jor-El | Marlon Brando | Marlon Brando (Donner Cut) | Marlon Brando (archive footage) | ||
| Perry White | Jackie Cooper | Frank Langella | |||
| Jimmy Olsen | Marc McClure | Sam Huntington | |||
| Lara | Susannah York | Susannah York (Lester cut) | Susannah York (voice only) | ||
| General Zod | Terence Stamp | ||||
| Non | Jack O'Halloran | ||||
| Ursa | Sarah Douglas | ||||
| Lana Lang | Diane Sherry | Annette O'Toole | |||
Other releases[]
The film series has also been released under different titles such as The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection.