An independent studio, Lippert Pictures, released the first Superman feature film, Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves, in 1. Ilya and Alexander Salkind and Pierre Spengler purchased the Supermanfilm rights in 1. After numerous scripts, Richard Donner was hired to direct the film, filming Superman 1. Superman II 1. 98. Donner had already shot eighty percent of Superman II with Christopher Reeve before it was decided to finish shooting the first film. The Salkinds fired Donner after Supermans release and commissioned Richard Lester as the director to finish Superman II. Lester also returned for Superman III 1. Salkinds further produced the 1. Supergirl before selling the rights to Cannon Films, resulting in the critically panned Superman IV The Quest for Peace 1. Ilya Salkind commissioned a fifth Superman script before Warner Bros. Over the course of eleven years Warner Bros. Tim Burtons Superman Lives, which would have starred Nicolas Cage, Wolfgang Petersens Batman vs. Superman, and the J. J. Abrams scripted Superman Flyby, which went between directors Joseph Mc. G Nichols and Brett Ratner. The studio hired Bryan Singer to take over the franchise in 2. Superman Returns in 2. Brandon Routh. Donners directors cut for Superman II was also released that year. Despite positive reviews, Warner Bros. Superman Returns, and canceled Singers proposed sequel. The studio nearly went in production of a Justice League film with George Miller directing and D. J. Cotrona as Superman, but it was shelved in 2. Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan, with Henry Cavill starring as Superman. Download Whole Fist Of The North Star: New Saviour Legend Movie. Snyder, Nolan and Cavill worked together again in Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice. Early films and serialseditParamount cartoon shortseditSuperman first appeared in cinemas in a series of 1. They were released by Paramount Pictures. Of those seventeen, nine were produced by Fleischer Studios and further eight by its successor, Famous Studios. Film serialseditThe first appearances of Superman in live action film were in two serials for Columbia Pictures Superman in 1. Atom Man vs. Superman in 1. Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill. Superman and the Mole Men 1. Superman and the Mole Men is a 1. George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. The film was produced by Barney Sarecky and directed by Lee Sholem with the original screenplay by Richard Fielding a pseudonym for Robert Maxwell and Whitney Ellsworth. Shot on a low budget, it served as a trial run for the syndicated TV series. Adventures of Superman, for which it became a pilot two part episode titled The Unknown People. Christopher Reeve series 1. Superman 1. 97. 8editIn 1. Ilya Salkind convinced his father Alexander to buy the rights to Superman. They hired Mario Puzo to pen a two film script, and negotiated with Steven Spielberg to direct, though Alexander Salkind rejected him as Jaws went over budget. Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman signed on to play Jor El and Lex Luthor respectively, and Guy Hamilton was hired to direct. However, Brando was faced with an obscenity lawsuit in Italy over Last Tango in Paris, and Hamilton was unable to shoot in England as he had violated his tax payments. The Salkinds hired Richard Donner to direct the film. Donner hired Tom Mankiewicz to polish the script, giving it a serious feel with Christ like overtones. Christopher Reeve was cast as Superman, having initially failed to impress the Salkinds before bulking up. Brando meanwhile, despite spending less than two weeks on the shoot,2 and not even reading the script until then,3 earned 3. The film was a success both critically and commercially, being released during the Christmas season of 1. Superman II 1. 98. Shooting of the two films was marred by Donners bad relationship with the Salkinds, with Richard Lester acting as mediator. With the film going over budget, the filmmakers decided to temporarily cease production of II and move that films climax into the first film. Despite Supermans success, Donner did not return to finish Superman II,3 and it was completed with Lester, who gave the film a more tongue in cheek tone. The Salkinds also cut Brando for financial reasons,2 while John Williams quit as composer due to turning his attention to other projects. Superman II was another financial and critical success, despite stiff competition with Raiders of the Lost Ark in the same year. In 2. 00. 6, after receiving many requests for his own version of Superman II, Richard Donner and producer Michael Thau produced their own cut of the film and released it on November 2. The new version of the film received positive response from critics5 and the stars of the original film. Superman III 1. 98. For the third installment, Ilya Salkind wrote a treatment that expanded the films scope to a cosmic scale, introducing the villains Brainiac and Mister Mxyzptlk, as well as Supergirl. The original outline featured a father daughter relationship between Brainiac and Supergirl, and a romance between Superman and Supergirl, even though the two are cousins in the comics. Warner Bros. Superman III film that co starred Richard Pryor as computer wizard Gus Gorman, who under the manipulation of a millionaire magnate, creates a form of Kryptonite that turns the Man of Steel into an evil self. The retooled script3 pared Brainiac down into the films evil ultimate computer. Despite the films success, fans were disappointed with the film, in particular with Pryors performance diluting the serious tone of the previous films, as well as controversy over the depiction of the evil Superman. Salkinds rejected proposal was later released online in 2. Supergirl spin off film, 1. Upon gaining the rights for the film Superman,Alexander Salkind and his son, Ilya Salkind, also purchased the rights to the character of Supermans cousin Supergirl. Supergirl was released in 1. Reeve films Reeve was slated to have a cameo but he ultimately backed out of the production. It stars Helen Slater in her first motion picture in the title role, while Faye Dunaway who received top billing played the primary villain, Selena the film also featured Marc Mc. Clure reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen. Even though the film performed poorly at the box office,1. Helen Slater was nominated for a Saturn Award. Superman IV The Quest for Peace 1. Cannon Films picked up an option for a fourth SupermanReeve film, with Reeve reprising the role due to his interest in the films topic regarding nuclear weapons. However, Cannon decided to cut the budget of Superman IV The Quest for Peace from 3. Warner Bros. decided to give the franchise a break following the negative reception of the last two Superman films. Abandoned projectseditSuperman VeditBefore the failure of Superman IV The Quest for Peace, Cannon Films considered producing a fifth film with Albert Pyun as director. Cannons bankruptcy resulted in the film rights reverting to Ilya and Alexander Salkind. Ilya Salkind wrote the story for Superman V also known as Superman The New Movie with Superboy writers Cary Bates and Mark Jones in the early 1. The story had Superman dying and resurrecting in the shrunken, bottled Krypton city of Kandor. The premise of Supermans death and rebirth coincidentally predated The Death of Superman. Salkind, Bates and Jones developed two drafts of the script, with Christopher Reeve set to reprise the title role. Superman ReborneditIn any good Superman movie, the fate of the whole planet should be at stake. Youve got to have villains whose powers and abilities demand that Superman and only Superman can be the one who stops them.