Superman II (1980) on Netflix
Three Kryptonian criminals, led by General Zod, escape the Phantom Zone and gain powers from the sun. Clark Kent, who unknowingly freed them, is torn between his duty and Lois Lane.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.8/10124,901 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes89%
Trailer
Plot summary
General Zod, Ursa and Non are banished to the Phantom Zone before Krypton is destroyed. A hydrogen bomb's shockwave shatters that prison near Earth, and the yellow light of the Sun gives the three criminals powers. They land on the Moon, then set out to conquer the planet. The Daily Planet sends its reporters, Clark Kent and Lois Lane, to Niagara Falls. Clark is Superman. Lex Luthor is a criminal genius who aspires to world domination and hates Superman.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Superman II (1980)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Superman and its sequel were filmed simultaneously from March 1977, but tensions between director Richard Donner and the producers stopped work on the sequel when 75 percent of it was already complete. Donner was fired and replaced by Lester, who re-shot most of the sequel in order to be credited as its director.
- Two days after the first film's general release, Marlon Brando sued the Salkinds for $50 million, claiming he had never received his percentage of the film's gross, and filed a restraining order to prevent the use of his likeness. The restraining order request was thrown out, but Brando received $15 million in the settlement.
- The Salkinds announced that Brando's completed scenes for Superman II would be cut out to avoid paying him the reported 11.75% of gross U.S. box-office takings he was demanding for the sequel. Ilya Salkind also claimed creative differences, suggesting the message about love made more sense coming from the mother than from Jor-El.
- Creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz turned down Warner Bros. vice president Terry Semel's request to return for the sequel out of loyalty to Donner, saying friendship mattered more than anything. Editor Stuart Baird also declined, and Gene Hackman refused to come back for re-shoots, which meant using a body double and a voice impersonator for several scenes.
- Philip Morris paid $40,000 for its Marlboro cigarettes to appear in the film. During the Metropolis battle General Zod throws Superman into a Marlboro delivery truck, although real tobacco distribution vehicles are unmarked for security reasons, and this led to a congressional investigation.
- John Williams was originally slated to score Superman II and was given a screening with Ilya Salkind and Richard Lester. When Salkind left the projection room, Williams and Lester fell into an argument, and on Salkind's return Williams told him that he 'could not get along with this man'. Lester's frequent composer Ken Thorne took the job instead.
- In 2004 fans released a restored DVD, Superman II: Restored International Cut, through Superman fan sites, built from extended scenes pulled off international television broadcasts over the years. Warner Bros. threatened legal action over the bootleg.
