Richard Donner’s 1 Unbelievable Stunt Saved Christopher Reeve’s ‘Superman’ Film From Going Down the Drain

Late director Richard Donner will always be known as the man who created the superhero movie to triumph over all others. Even after more than 25 years, his 1978 Superman is still hailed as the perfect archetype from which future filmmakers draw inspiration.

Christopher Reeve and Marlon Brando in Superman II: Richard Donner Cut | Credit: Warner Bros.

In one of his last interviews, the man narrated what it was like to direct that movie. Moreover, he also talked about a bold stunt he pulled off, going against all norms to make it happen. And if anything, that stunt speaks of his dedication to his craft, and how his instincts ended up saving the savior of the world himself. 

Richard Donner pulled off a bold stunt to save Superman

Richard Donner has spent his entire childhood reading the Superman comics. As a result, when it came to identifying what would depict his story best, he had some ideas. In fact, those were ideas that differed heavily from his scriptwriter.

According to Donner’s interview with The Telegraph, when producer Ilya Salkind first had the idea of making Superman, he got The Godfather’s writer Mario Puzo on board to pen the story of the Kryptonian superhero. However, when Richard Donner got on board, his vision deviated greatly from that of the legendary scriptwriter.

Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman in Richard Donner’s Superman | Credit: Warner Bros

To him, as he stated, Superman was an all-American embodiment of hope and optimism, whereas, in Puzo’s draft, Clark Kent came off as “camp, a parody, and disrespectful to what Superman was all about”. So he thought of a way to rectify that mistake from the get-go. According to him, he approached his friend and writer Tom Mankiewicz, known for his James Bond scripts, to rewrite the script.

However, the man disagreed. To persuade him further, Donner pulled off a stunt that only people on par with his intellectual stature could even think of. He asked his friend to drive over to his place, and then Richard Donner donned the Superman costume that was sent over to him by the producers and ran to his friend when he got out of the car. He recalled the incident during the interview with great pleasure, noting,

I’m sitting right now in my living room looking right out where I hid behind the fence here and came out as Tom got out of his car.

The interviewer rightfully pointed out that not many would have had the guts to pull off something like that. However, to The Omen director, it didn’t seem like a great deal. He stated that with the right amount of motivation and courage, which in his case meant getting high, anybody would have done the same. 

Richard Donner spoke of finding Christopher Reeve for Superman

According to Richard Donner, he wanted a fresh face to embody “the beacon of light and hope”, as he calls the superhero. To him, it seemed like a well-established actor flying about as a superhero would not be believable. So the hunt for Superman began. Thankfully for him, he did not have to wait long as casting director Lynn Stalmaster found Christopher Reeve soon after.

Christopher Reeve as Superman in Richard Donner’s Superman movie | Credit: Warner Bros

After watching his performance in an off-Broadway play, and meeting him, the director was convinced he had found the perfect match. In fact, so was Reeve, as Donner recalled, “He was convinced that he could play Superman.” And his conviction gave Richard Donner the added confirmation he needed to cast him for the role.

About the character – about his truth, justice and the American way. He was Superman the moment he said ‘I can do it.

However, the road to that wasn’t easy as Reeve used to be particularly scrawny at the time. But with the help of bodybuilder and actor David Prowse, who had just wrapped up his part in Star Wars as Darth Vader, Christopher Reeve built himself up in just six weeks to stand in front of the camera.

According to Richard Donner, all his efforts were to be faithful to the image of Superman he had in his mind. The image that the public, “especially the kids, would latch onto.”

It seems stupid to say I wanted to save Superman, but from the direction it was going before Tom and I got on, I think we did to a degree save it.

Well, according to the future superhero movie directors, he definitely saved Superman. From Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan, all have confirmed that they were inspired by Richard Donner to conceptualize their superhero movies.