Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut Explained, Version by Version
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Superman II : The Richard Donner Cut is one of the rare films in cinema history to have been finished twenty-six years after it was shot. Fired midway, Richard Donner had left behind reels that nobody was supposed to see again. In this article you'll find: why the director was replaced, what he had already shot, how this cut came out in 2006, the precise differences from the 1980 version, what the film gains and what it loses, and which of the two versions to watch. By the end, you'll know why fans still fight over it.
The essentials
- What it is: the cut of Superman II that Richard Donner could not finish
- Release: November 28, 2006, straight to video (DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray)
- Runtime: 116 minutes
- Editor: Michael Thau, with Donner's agreement and then his involvement
- Already shot in 1979: about 75 to 80% of the film
- Big return: Marlon Brando as Jor-El, absent from the 1980 version
📋 Contents
1979: why Donner is fired
Richard Donner shoots Superman and its sequel at the same time, starting in 1977. It's a risky method: two films, one set, months of shooting at Pinewood Studios. When the first film opens in December 1978 and becomes a triumph, the second part is already three-quarters shot.
And yet, in March 1979, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind sideline Donner and replace him with Richard Lester. The reasons are several: an open fight over creative control, budget overruns, and one precise contract problem — the financial obligations to Marlon Brando, which the production did not want to honor on the second film.
Richard Lester, coming from British comedy, then has to reshoot a significant part of the film to claim the directing credit. Our analysis of Superman II goes back to the film as it came out in 1980, with that double inheritance.
For Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder, who had stood up for Donner, the decision leaves lasting marks: Kidder publicly criticizes the producers, and her role will be cut to a few minutes in Superman III.
What Richard Lester reshot
Lester does not just finish the film: he reshoots entire stretches. Brando's scenes disappear, replaced by sequences with Susannah York as Lara. The tone lightens, with gags that did not exist in Donner's work. The opening scene changes setting.
This rewrite is not a failure — the 1980 film remains, for many, the best in the saga — but it yields a hybrid work: two directors, two sensibilities, one cut.
The paradox is that viewers do not notice it. For twenty-five years, Superman II is simply « the film where Zod arrives on Earth », without the general public knowing it is watching the work of two crews.
The only clues are visual: Reeve's haircut changes from shot to shot, and some doubles stand in for actors unavailable for the new takes.
The fan campaign and the 2006 release
From the late 1990s, a fan community forms around a simple question: what is left of Donner's reels? Online petitions, specialist sites, press pieces — the demand becomes strong enough for Warner to take an interest.
The block was not only artistic: it was legal. Marlon Brando's footage could not be used without agreement from his rights holders. The unlock comes from Superman Returns : in 2006, Bryan Singer gets a license to use archive footage of Brando as Jor-El, which opens the way for the project.
The cut is entrusted to Michael Thau. Richard Donner, reluctant at first, ends up getting involved. The result comes out on November 28, 2006 on DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray, under the title Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, for a runtime of 116 minutes.
The film wins the Saturn Award for best special-edition DVD. It is a modest prize, but it marks a first: an abandoned film recut under pressure from its audience.
The differences from the 1980 version
| Element | 1980 version (Lester) | Donner Cut (2006) |
|---|---|---|
| Jor-El | absent, replaced by Lara | Marlon Brando restored in several scenes |
| Opening | attack at the Eiffel Tower | return to the missiles from the first film |
| Lois discovers the secret | Clark trips into a fireplace | Lois shoots Clark with a blank |
| Overall tone | gags and comedy pacing | drier, more dramatic |
| Ending | kiss that erases Lois's memory | turning back time |
| Lester footage | most of the film | less than 20% of the cut |
The most discussed scene is the reveal. In Lester, Clark falls into a fireplace and burns his hand without damage: Lois understands by accident. In Donner, Lois shoots him with a blank-loaded gun, betting her own life on her conviction. Two different characters in a single scene.
This version comes from 1977 screen tests with Reeve and Kidder, never used. The image is grainier, the acting less finished — and that is exactly what gives the scene its raw character.
Marlon Brando's return
The real case for the Donner Cut is Jor-El. In the 1980 version, the Kryptonian father has vanished from the story: Lara is the one who speaks from the Fortress. The 2006 cut gives Brando his scenes back, and the film's balance changes.
The sequence where Superman gives up his powers takes on a different dimension when it is his father, not his mother, who tries to talk him out of it — because the first film had built the whole relationship around him. Our portrait of Jor-El breaks down what the character stands for in the mythology.
Brando's last appearance, in which he spends what energy he has left to give his son his powers back, is one of the strongest moments in the whole Reeve era — and it stayed unseen for twenty-six years.
Our analysis of 1978 goes back to the place Donner had given this character from the first film.
Two endings, two philosophies
The ending is the deepest point of disagreement between the two versions.
In Lester, Superman erases Lois's memory with a kiss. The solution is gentle, romantic, and practical for the sequel: Lois forgets, the status quo returns.
In Donner, Superman spins the Earth backward to go back in time, exactly as at the end of the first film. The problem is obvious: the film repeats the device that had already been used, and retroactively cancels part of its own story.
Donner's defenders recall that this ending was not planned for the second film: the first was supposed to end differently, before the final cut swapped the conclusions. The Donner Cut therefore inherits a choice its director would probably not have kept.
Detractors answer more simply: an ending that erases the film is not an ending.
Which version should you watch?
To discover Superman II, start with the 1980 version: it's the one that marked the audience, the one popular culture quotes, and a finished film. Save the Donner Cut for a second watch: it lights up the first film, restores Brando, and shows what the saga could have been. One is a classic, the other a document.
The Donner Cut does suffer from how it was made: rough joins, screen tests in place of scenes never shot, and a debatable ending. It does not replace the 1980 film, it accompanies it.
To place the two versions in the saga as a whole, our list of Superman movies traces the whole filmography, and our ranking of box-office grosses recalls the film's considerable success in 1980.
Worth noting: the Donner Cut never played in theaters. It therefore has no box-office result, which sets it apart in the filmography.
What this cut changed
Twenty-seven years of waiting
The Donner Cut had an unexpected consequence: it made legitimate the idea that a film can exist in several studio versions. Fifteen years later, the same logic will produce the Snyder Cut of Justice League, with an even bigger fan campaign.
It also did right by a director. Richard Donner, who died in 2021, lived to see his Superman II exist, even imperfect, even on video.
For fans of the Reeve era, it's the equivalent of a recovered notebook: you don't read the book you hoped for, but you finally understand what the author had in mind.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
What is the Donner Cut?
A cut of Superman II built from footage Richard Donner shot before he was fired in 1979, assembled by Michael Thau and released on video on November 28, 2006, running 116 minutes.
Why was Richard Donner fired?
Because of a conflict with the Salkind producers over creative control and the budget, and a financial dispute tied to Marlon Brando's contract. Richard Lester replaced him in March 1979.
How much of the film had Donner shot?
About 75 to 80%, the two films having been shot in parallel. The 2006 cut keeps less than 20% of Richard Lester's footage.
What are the big differences from the 1980 version?
Marlon Brando's return as Jor-El, a different reveal scene (Lois shoots Clark with a blank), less humor, and a different ending: turning back time instead of the kiss that erases memory.
Is the Donner Cut better?
It is more consistent with the first film, but less finished: rough joins, screen tests used as scenes, and an ending that repeats the one from 1978. The 1980 version remains the best way in.
Did it play in theaters?
No, only on video in 2006, with a few event screenings. It therefore has no box-office result.
Conclusion
Superman II : The Richard Donner Cut is not the perfect film some fans hoped for, and that was not possible: you do not finish in 2006 a shoot interrupted in 1979. It is something else, and maybe better: tangible proof that another version of the saga existed.
The two actors most tied to this cut have their portraits: Marlon Brando, given back to the film, and Terence Stamp, whose scenes stay unchanged.
Brando given back his role, a Lois who risks her life on a hunch, a graver tone: Donner's cut says what the saga could have become if the producers had not changed course.
To go further, our analysis of Superman II goes back to the 1980 version, and our portrait of Christopher Reeve tells the story of the actor who held both.