“I wanted to save Superman”: Original Christopher Reeve Script Was So Disrespectful to Superman Richard Donner Had To Take a Drastic Measure to Save It

James Gunn’s Superman, starring David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, recently released its first trailer, and the reviews have been very positive. People have praised the actor and the director, who is also the co-CEO of DC Studios, for a trailer that keeps the anticipation amongst the fans at its highest. But Superman’s trailer has also led some fans to go back and rewatch all the Superman movies, including Richard Donner’s 1978 release starring Christopher Reeve.

Upon release, the movie was a critical and financial success and became the second-highest-grossing release of the year. Reeve was highly appreciated for his work and laid the foundation of Superman’s popularity. However, it was reported that Richard Donner had to use some external resources to make the script look like what the audience saw on-screen.

Richard Donner talks about re-writing the 1978 Superman‘s script

During an interview with the Telegraph, filmmaker Richard Donner, known for his work on The Omen, was called in to direct Superman and Superman 2 back-to-back. He shared that he was hungover when he got the call and was reportedly dazzled by the idea.

When he started working on the movie, he did not like the screenplay already written by David Newman, Leslie Newman, and Mario Puzo. He shared that the original one was written by Puzo and described it as

It was camp, a parody, and disrespectful to what Superman was all about.

Donner called in a favor from Tom Mankiewicz, who has very proudly written some of the Bond films, to rewrite the script for the movie. Mankiewicz was, however, not interested, but Donner wanted him to take the project, so he asked him to drive over and put on the Superman outfit, running over to Mankiewicz. He said,

Not many directors would have put that costume on and run around like that. The whole thing was to save an image of what I thought Superman should be and what he meant to me as a kid. It seems stupid to say I wanted to save Superman, but from the direction it was going before Tom & I got on.

In another interview, Donner shared that the Newmans had written the screenplay, which was good, but it was directed in an area that to him was sacrilegious. He added that the writers wrote what they were hired for, but when he read it, it seemed like a parody of a parody.

They were told to hone in on the word ‘comic’ in comic books. And our comic books in those days shouldn’t have been called comic books, much like the illustrated books that are coming out today. They have a life of their own, and they’re not comic.

He explained that he wanted to protect the character’s story because he was an important part of the truth, justice, and the American way. He didn’t want to see that destroyed, which is why he reached out to Tom Mankiewicz, who rewrote the script.

Richard Donner on selecting Christopher Reeve for Superman

After rewriting the script, Donner faced the challenge of finding the one actor who suited the role he rewrote the best, and he explained to the Telegraph that names like Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and Burt Reynolds had come up, but he turned them down. The reason was that he wanted someone unknown, convinced that nobody would believe that an A-lister was flying.

The filmmaker was mesmerized by Christopher Reeve’s performance in an off-Broadway play and then meeting him. Donner shared that Reeve was convinced that he could play Superman. The filmmaker said that for him, Reeve was Superman the moment he said, ‘I can do it.’

Further in the conversation, the filmmaker stated that another hurdle that he faced was Superman flying, and finally, after months of trying out various things, what worked for them was a front projection system. He said,

We saw it at lunchtime. There were tears. There was silence. We were so excited that we had finally, finally gotten a chance to prove we could do it.

Richard Donner, recalling Christopher Reeve, shared that he was a wonderful friend and a wonderful person. He had shared with Empire that Reeve made the flying extraordinarily believable for the audience, which had a lot to do with his understanding of aircrafts.

Superman is available to stream on Prime Video.