Although 1978’s Superman: The Movie was far from the first time a superhero story had been told in a cinematic setting, it was unquestionably the genre’s entrance into blockbuster territory and paved the way for an era where we can now look forward to so many upcoming superhero movies. Then-unknown Christopher Reeve was cast to play the Man of Steel, a role he would go on to play in three more movies. Before he came along though, some big names were in consideration for Superman, and frankly, I’m even more glad with how this casting turned out in the end.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, the documentary about Reeve’s life, recently screened under the Fathom Events banner, and it’s been announced that it will expand wide in theaters across North America starting October 11. Among the many people who were interviewed for the documentary was Superman: The Movie producer Pierre Spengler, who had the following to say about how the casting process for this innovative superhero movie went down:
We were frantically looking for a Superman. The casting director had lined up many, many people, dozens of them. What was strange, like, Neil Diamond wanted to be Superman. Robert Redford, we made an offer, he immediately went, ‘No.’ Bruce Jenner, physically he was very good, but the acting, not so much. Schwarzenegger was running after us. He had theoretically the physique of the comic book, [laughs] but we cannot have Superman… [says in exaggerated Austrian accent] ‘Truth, justice and the American way.’ The idea came [that] rather than casting a well known Superman, we should go with an unknown and have stars around him.
Can we all agree that some big bullets were dodged? For one thing, Neil Diamond and Caitlyn Jenner (known back then as Bruce) were not actors, so it would not have been wise for them to play someone who’d been one of pop culture’s most famous characters for four decades at that point. Arnold Schwarzenegger had at least appeared in a few movies at that point, including Hercules in New York and Stay Hungry, but I agree with Spengler that the heavy Austrian accent wouldn’t have fit for Superman, an American icon. Even with Robert Redford, who’d already impressed audiences in movies like The Sting and Three Days of the Condor, I feel like he would have been miscast in the role.
I think most, if not all of us can agree that picking Christopher Reeve, who’d just a few years earlier had been starring opposite Katharine Hepburn in the Broadway play A Matter of Gravity, was the right call. Like Superman: The Movie’s tagline promised, he made us believe a man could fly, and over 45 years after the flick’s release, he still ranks as one of the most beloved actors to bring the Man of Steel to life. In the documentary, Reeve’s son, Matthew, even points to a specific moment from Superman that’s his favorite scene his father ever filmed.
Plus, like Pierre Spengler said, with an unknown at the center of Superman, more established actors could be brought in to help boost the movie’s profile, including Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor and Marlon Brando as Jor-El. While Superman and Superman II (both the theatrical cut and The Richard Donner Cut) were well received, the same couldn’t be said for Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (a movie Lenny Luthor actor Jon Cryer called a “mess”). Nevertheless, Reeve’s overall reputation for playing Superman remains untarnished, so let’s continue to be glad he was selected rather than one of those other people.
You can stream all of Christopher Reeve’s Superman movies with a Max subscription. The next chapter of this DC Comics character’s cinematic history will begin when James Gunn’s Superman, the first movie set in the DC Universe shared continuity, opens July 11 on the 2025 release schedule.
