Superman II is a 1980 superhero film based on the DC Comics character Superman, portrayed by Christopher Reeve. It is the second installment in the Superman film series and a sequel to the 1978 film. It was directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo. The returning cast also includes Gene Hackman, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, Marc McClure, Jackie Cooper, and Jack O'Halloran. The film's plot features the arrival of General Zod and his comrades on Earth, following their release from the Phantom Zone (a prison that had been made by the people of Krypton). Zod seeks revenge for imprisonment by pursuing the planet's last son, Kal-El, alias "Superman". As a result, Kal-El, who had unknowingly freed them, must now face threats from his long-dead home planet. Zod also allies with Lex Luthor, who still aspires to world domination. The hero also faces an internal conflict, torn between his duties as Earth's hero and his desire to live amongst them solely as Clark Kent, and especially with his love interest, Lois Lane.
In 1977, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind decided that they would film Superman and its sequel simultaneously; principal photography began in March 1977 and ended in October 1978. Tensions rose between original director Richard Donner and the producers, as a result of which a decision was made to stop filming the sequel, 75 percent of which had already been completed, and simply finish the first film. After the release of Superman in December 1978, Donner was fired as director and replaced by Lester. Several members of the cast and crew declined to return to complete the sequel in the wake of Donner's firing. In order to be officially credited as the director, Lester re-shot most of the film: principal photography resumed in September 1979 and ended in March 1980.
Superman II was released in Australia and most of Europe on December 4, 1980, and in other countries in 1981. It received positive reviews from film critics, who praised the performances of Hackman, Kidder, Stamp, and Reeve, as well as the visual effects and the humor. It grossed $216 million worldwide against a production budget of $54 million, which meant it was a box office success, albeit less so than its predecessor. A sequel, Superman III, was released in June 1983, for which Lester returned as director. A director's cut of Superman II, restoring the original vision for the film under Donner's supervision, titled Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, was released on November 28, 2006, in various home media formats.
Plot
Before the destruction of Krypton, the criminals General Zod, Ursa and Non are sentenced to banishment into the Phantom Zone. Years later, the Phantom Zone is shattered near Earth by the shockwave of a hydrogen bomb, thrown from Earth by Superman. The three criminals are freed and find themselves with superpowers granted by the yellow light of the Sun. After landing on the Moon and effortlessly killing a team of astronauts exploring there, they continue toward Earth with plans to conquer the planet.
The Daily Planet sends journalist Clark Kent—whose secret identity is Superman—and his colleague Lois Lane to Niagara Falls. Lois suspects Clark and Superman are the same person after Clark is absent when Superman saves a child. Lois intentionally jumps into the river, but Clark saves her without exposing himself. That night, Clark trips, and his hand lands in a lit fireplace. When Lois sees that his hand is unscathed, Clark reveals that he is indeed Superman. He takes her to his Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic, showing her the traces of his past stored within energy crystals. Superman declares his love for Lois and his wish to spend his life with her. After conferring with the hologram of his mother, Lara, Superman removes his superpowers by exposing himself to red Kryptonian sunlight in a crystal chamber, becoming a mortal. Clark and Lois spend the night together, then leave the Fortress and return from the Arctic.
Meanwhile, Zod and his cohorts travel to the White House and force the President of the United States to surrender. Clark and Lois arrive at a diner in Alaska, where a trucker named Rocky sexually harasses Lois and beats Clark to a bloody pulp. While Lois tries to help Clark with his wounds, the President makes a televised speech, which is interrupted by Zod. Clark looks up at the TV and realizes that Zod, Ursa, and Non have taken over the planet. The President then asks for Superman's help, and Zod challenges Superman. Clark realizes that he made a terrible mistake and returns to the Fortress to restore his powers.
Lex Luthor escapes from prison with Eve Teschmacher's help. They infiltrate the Fortress of Solitude, and Luthor learns of Superman's connection to Jor-El and General Zod. He finds Zod at the White House and tells him Superman is the son of Jor-El, their jailer, and offers to lead him to Superman in exchange for control of Australia. The three Kryptonians ally with Luthor and go to the Daily Planet. Superman arrives and battles the three. Zod realizes that Superman cares for the humans and takes advantage by threatening bystanders. Superman realizes the only way to stop Zod and the others is to lure them to the Fortress, so he flies off with Zod, Ursa, and Non in pursuit, kidnapping Lois and taking along Luthor. Superman tries to get Luthor to lure the three into the crystal chamber to depower them. However, Luthor reveals the chamber's secret to the villains. Zod forces Superman into the chamber and activates it. Afterwards, assuming him deprived of his powers, Zod tells Superman to kneel, take his hand, and swear eternal loyalty to him; instead, Superman crushes Zod's hand and tosses him into a crevice. Luthor deduces that Superman reconfigured the chamber to expose the trio to red sunlight while Superman was protected from it. Non falls into another crevice when trying to fly over it, and Lois knocks Ursa into a third. Superman flies back to civilization, returning Lois home and leaving Lex stranded in the Fortress.
At the Daily Planet the following day, Clark kisses Lois, using his abilities to wipe her mind of the knowledge of her past few days. Later, he returns to the diner, gets revenge on Rocky, and humiliates him. Superman restores the damage done by Zod, replacing the American flag atop the White House, and tells the President he will not abandon his duty again.
Cast Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor: Criminal genius and Superman's archnemesis. Armed with vast resources and scientific brilliance, Luthor's contempt for mankind is only surpassed by his hatred for Superman. Luthor strikes a bargain with the three Kryptonian criminals in an effort to destroy Superman. Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent / Superman: Born on Krypton and raised on Earth, Superman is a being of immense strength, speed, and power. Morally upstanding and instilled with a strong sense of duty, Superman tirelessly uses his formidable powers, which he gets from the Earth's yellow Sun, to protect the people of his adoptive homeworld. His alter ego is mild-mannered Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. Superman's abilities include: X-ray and heat vision, vast strength, speed, and invulnerability, super-intelligence, and flight. Ned Beatty as Otis: Luthor's incompetent henchman. Jackie Cooper as Perry White: Mercurial editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet newspaper and Lois and Clark's boss. Sarah Douglas as Ursa: Zod's second-in-command and consort. Ursa's evil will and power lust are equal to and sometimes surpass those of General Zod. Her contempt and utter disregard for humans, men in particular, make her a very deadly adversary. She has an inclination to collect insignia and heraldry from people she defeats or dominates, such as the NASA patch from the EVA suit of an astronaut she kills. Margot Kidder as Lois Lane: The ace reporter for the Daily Planet and Superman's love interest. Lois is a driven career journalist who lets nothing stand in the way of breaking the next big story and scooping rival reporters while ignoring the potential consequences that sometimes put her in peril. She finds out that Clark is Superman, but her memory is erased when Clark kisses her. Jack O'Halloran as Non: The third of the Kryptonian criminals, Non is "as without thought as he is without voice." At tall, Non is a formidable hulking mute who easily matches Superman's strength, but has the intelligence and sometimes curiosity of a child, and communicates only with guttural grunts and growls. Though he lacks the mental ability to use his powers effectively, he does, however, possess the same taste for destruction as his Kryptonian companions, and his physical strength is even greater than Zod and Ursa's. Valerie Perrine as Eve Teschmacher: Lex Luthor's beautiful assistant and girlfriend who helps him escape from prison. Susannah York as Lara: Jor-El's wife and Superman's biological mother. Clifton James as Sheriff. E.G. Marshall as the President of the United States. Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen: Young photographer at the Daily Planet. Terence Stamp as General Zod: The ruthless, arrogant and megalomaniacal leader of three Kryptonian criminals banished to the Phantom Zone and unwittingly set free by Superman. Zod, upon landing on Earth and gaining the same superpowers as Superman, immediately views humans as a weak and insignificant subspecies and imposes his evil will for world dominance. However, his arrogance causes him to quickly become bored with his powers, and he is almost disappointed at how little of a challenge humans are. His insatiable lust for power is replaced, however, by revenge when he learns that the son of Jor-El stands in the way of his absolute rule of the planet.
According to the 2006 documentary You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman, Sarah Douglas was the only cast member to do extensive around-the-world press tours in support of the film and was one of the few actors who held a neutral point of view in the Donner–Lester controversy.
Richard Donner briefly appears in a "walking cameo" in the film. In the sequence where the de-powered Clark and Lois are seen approaching the truck-stop diner by car, Donner appears walking "camera left" past the driver's side. He is wearing a light tan jacket and appears to be smoking a pipe. In his commentary for Superman II, Ilya Salkind states that the inclusion of his cameo in that scene is proof that the Salkinds held no animosity towards Donner, because if there were, then surely they would have cut it out. Conversely, Donner used his cameo to debunk praise heaped on Lester around the release of the film, where Lester took credit for the intense nature of the "bully" scene in the diner, pointing out that he (Donner) filmed the scene and not Lester.
Production history
Original production Principal photography for both Superman films began on March 28, 1977, at Pinewood Studios for the Krypton scenes, but by May 1977, production had run two weeks behind schedule. It was reported that Donner had developed tensions with Alexander and Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler concerning the escalating production budget and production schedule. Donner responded by claiming he was never given a budget.