Okay, so you made him fly, now show me something!

The XK-101 rocket speeds into the black void and then…

BOOOM!!!!!

A cataclysmic explosion sends intense shockwaves across the galaxy, catching and then hurling the Phantom Zone into a frenzied spin. The Phantom Zone implodes…CRACKS...then SHATTERS into smithereens.

The opening of Superman II, the continuation of Donner's intrinsic, mega-mythic feature -- the last part of the Salkind serial, "Villains breaking out at the end of 1 was my idea, I wanted it to be like a serial, the two-part concept was in my head since 1973," says flamboyant executive producer Ilya Salkind. The ending was nixed post-production and thus the link between two pictures was cut off…permanently.

Superman: The Movie directed with heart and conviction shattered box office records, reviving Warner Bros. and with the promise of Superman II next year -- in fact it was pencilled in for the summer of 1980 -- everything was looking rosy. "The first one had less repeat business than Star Wars. I guess Superman was geared towards an adult audience and it opened at Christmas," recalled Ilya.

The producers were supposedly walking on sunshine and on water, and maybe even reached the stratosphere from the silo but the adulations were soon swept aside; a black cloud was threatening to rain on their parade...

Although the Salkinds were never in a position to turn water into wine, maybe some of the horror stories were just a figment of someone's imagination? Media reports and hearsay have been indubitably ingrained, which eventually snowballed into supposedly historical fact. Yet the producer(s) never gave their side of the argument until now. Make up your own minds. Maybe you'll find the answer to that eternal question, WHY?

Superman II is a tale of two Dicks, two styles, two visions and too political.

The Conversation Continues...

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