Up in the Sky...

Another interesting conversation I have had lately, is the possibility of the Super Villians (Zod, Non and Ursa) making an appearance in a Bryan Singer Superman sequel. But wait, didn’t they die at the end of Superman II? Well, it all depends on which version of Superman II you watch. Lester’s Superman II has them finding their demise in the frozen depths of the Fortress of Solitude. Yet, Donner’s Superman II has time being rewound and the last thing we see is the Phantom Zone still floating in space with the villains trapped inside. So, could we see this? I want to say yes but I really hope we don’t. The reason I state this is my appreciation of Terrance Stamp’s portrayal of General Zod. But I might forgive a recast just as I have accepted Brandon Routh as Superman taking over the cape of Christopher Reeve.



So, as I mentioned before, I think the new Superman film revival could cause a torrid confusion of where the time line falls. If someone has definitive knowledge that Singer is using Lester’s Superman II, publish this so we can forget about Donner’s cut in future Superman sequels.



Now, my next thought on Superman is: Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. Although cool, not too mention; it finally puts to rest the rumors of this better cut of Superman II, I found myself not liking it as much as I thought I would. I was expecting this entirely different movie. Yet, the film wasn’t that much different then the Lester cut. Now there is some unique scenes and better dialog in the Donner cut, yet some of the differences seemed a bit forced. And I am aware that there was just a bunch of stuff un-filmed thus creative solutions were used. The reason I criticize this is because I was under the impression that 70% of a Donner cut of the film was done, then 50% was re-shot so Lester could take sole directorial credit. That would leave only a fraction or 20% of the previous Lester cut that would have to be used in the new commercial Donner cut. I know that is stretching it but I felt the Donner cut was more like 50-60% recycled Lester footage. [to clarify when I refer to the Lester cut, I want to state I am aware that Donner was the originator but I am using it on a level of what we have been exposed to over the last 20 years—up until now, Lester’s Superman II was what we know as Superman II and Donner’s cut is the newer cut although it is truly the proto cut.] Is it just me or does the math not add up?