The dream could be coming true for plenty of fanboys. No, they won’t be finally getting laid any time soon, but rather Richard Donner will be revisiting Superman II for an upcoming DVD release.
Donner directed the original Superman, and perhaps 70 to 80 percent of the second one, before leaving – or being removed. The reasons remain cloudy to this day, but the best bet is that there was a dispute between him and the producers, the Salkinds. It seems that they never told Donner he was shooting two movies back to back – a trick they had pulled once on their Three Musketeers movie. When Donner found out that he wasn’t making one film, but rather two, he demanded more money, and was refused. Of course there are other versions as well, including just good old fashioned “creative differences”.
For many fans the idea of a Donner version of Superman II is intriguing and fascinating, and according to an article in Dreamwatch Magazine, they’ll finally be able to get a look at what could have been. According to the magazine Warner Bros has brought Donner on to restore his version, some elements of which ended up in an international TV cut. It’s all part of brand new special editions of Supermans II, III and IV that will be released to tie-in with Bryan Singer’s new film (and there may be a new Supergirl DVD as well – Warners has bought that back from Anchor Bay).
There hasn’t been an official announcement yet, so stay tuned for more updates.