INTRODUCTION

Sequels. According to Webster's New World Dictionary the term sequel is defined as "something that follows" or "any literary work complete in itself but continuing a story begun in an earlier work." When one thinks of the word "sequel", one conjures up images of a series of films designed to capitalize on the success of the initial installment, in many cases with little or no references to the first installment. This practice is most commonly viewed by the moviegoer as a title with either a regular or Roman numeral behind it, such as "Jaws 2", "Lethal Weapon 3", "Star Trek IV", and so forth. In some cases a film title may include an adjective or an adverb to indicate that it is a sequel, which includes such notable examples as "More American Graffiti" and "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer". And in some cases while in production a film title may be saddled with a Roman numeral before being given an official title - for example, the highly successful "The Empire Strikes Back" was initially conceived with the title "Star Wars II"; "Indy III" eventually became "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"; and "Bond 19" is nearing completion under the title "The World Is Not Enough".

The practice of film sequels in American cinema has a rich history unto itself, dating back to the 1930's and 1940's. Popular film series such as "Tarzan", "The Thin Man", "Dick Tracy", "Frankenstein", "Blonde and Dagwood", "Andy Hardy", and Bing Crosby and Bob Hope's "Road" films reigned at the box office. In the 1960's, once the world was introduced to James Bond in the 1963 United Artists film "Dr. No", sequels emerged into the spotlight with larger-scale plots, set designs, and rising production costs. Thirty-six years and nineteen installments later (twenty-one, if you count the Columbia Pictures spoof "Casino Royale" and the Warner Bros. remake "Never Say Never Again"), the James Bond series still has muscle at the box office both domestically and internationally.

By the 1970's sequels could no longer be dismissed as knockoffs of the original or pale attempts to reunite the original cast for a repetitive story with little or no character development to generate box office revenue. Once "The Godfather" became a box-office success in 1972, many readers of the late Mario Puzo's novel wondered when the rest of his epic story would be brought to the screen. They would not have to wait very long, though, because in 1974 "The Godfather - Part II" emerged to equal box-office success, as Puzo and writer/director Francis Ford Coppola not only filled in the back story of the life of Vito Corleone but also fleshed out and furthered the story of his son Michael Corleone. On television in the early 1980's both films were married into one complete story as "The Godfather - The Complete Saga: 1902-1959" with footage not seen in either production. On its own, "The Godfather - Part II" stands as a true sequel in the definition of the word in that it truly completes and continues the original story while moving its characters, plot and action forward in new directions. Twenty-five years after its release, "The Godfather - Part II" has the singular distinction in the history of cinema of being the only film sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

By the late 1970's and early 1980's, however, a new term emerged into film lexicon - "prequel". The term is defined as "a story designed to be written after the initial installment to tell a previous story before the beginning". The first noted film prequel was the movie "Butch and Sundance: The Early Years", directed by Richard Lester, which depicted how Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met and began their life of crime in the Old West. In 1994, George Lucas began writing the story for his long-awaited "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, set thirty-five years prior to the events of his initial installment, eventually succeeding in May 1999 with the release of "Episode One: The Phantom Menace" to box office success. Film prequels had come of age.

As with any film, the key element which is both essential to the completion of its production and necessary to creatively move the characters forward is the screenplay. The screenplay serves as the blueprint to the final product, and in many instances it becomes necessary for lines of dialogue or entire scenes to be cut from the project - either filmed and later edited or cut altogether prior to filming. In some instances it becomes unclear whether specific scenes were filmed or not, but if still photographs are located, this provides documentation that the scenes were in fact filmed and therefore filmed for the overall project. What becomes of these lost scenes remains a mystery - either gathering dust in a film vault or destroyed altogether from editing.

In the case of "Superman II" these elements and more serve as key moments in the screenplay development and in the production history of the popular sequel. From its theatrical release in 1980-81 to its final broadcast of the extended USA version in 1988, fans and film critics alike were treated to a dazzling cinematic comic book as Superman met his match in three villains from Krypton and fell in love with Lois Lane.

In the seven years that spanned the initial idea for the story to its completion of filming, the writers and producers faced a challenge truly worthy of the Man of Steel. Not only did they have to consider how to
live up to and complete the story begun in the original "Superman", but in the years to follow they had to also contend with the impossible - heated arguments, firings, salary disputes, lawsuits, threats of court injunctions, and simply completing the filming of the project. These problems greatly affected the story, as writers Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton, and Tom Mankiewicz, as well as directors Richard Donner and Richard Lester, and stars Marlon Brando, Margot Kidder, and Christopher Reeve, had clearly different story directions in mind for the Man of Steel.

Before going any further, I must pause to make the following comment. What you are about read is NOT the complete picture of the turbulent development of the story and filming of "Superman II". Most of what is revealed here is based on careful research and analysis of the July 1976 script treatment, the 1977 shooting script, the 1980 theatrical release, the 1988 ABC-TV broadcast of the film's extended version, and various magazine articles and publications. In some instances I have extrapolated events based on the articles' interviews with cast members, producers, writers, and directors. In some instances I have speculated as to what happened and will admit so. And some questions will unfortunately remain unanswered. As rumor continues to circulate of a possible DVD release of "Superman II" from Warner Home Video, fans and film restoration aficionados may finally have the final word on the story and its many untold secrets. And anyone with information regarding some of these questions is freely encouraged to come forward to set the record straight, so this article may be revised for future release.

Let us then go back in time to 1973 and the genesis of "Superman II"...