Christopher Reeve later made even higher gains for "Superman III" (1983), though for "" (1987), he decided it would be healthier to focus more on cardiovascular workouts. One of the reasons Reeve could not work out as much for "" was an emergency appendectomy he had in June 1986. Reeve was never a Superman or comic book fan, though he had watched "Adventures of Superman" starring George Reeves. Reeve found the role offered a suitable challenge because it was a dual role. He said, "there must be some difference stylistically between Clark and Superman. Otherwise, you just have a pair of glasses
Superman in film (1980) simultaneously. Donner had already shot eighty percent of "Superman II" with Christopher Reeve before it was decided to finish shooting the first film. The Salkinds fired Donner after "Superman"s release and commissioned Richard Lester as the director to finish "Superman II". Lester also returned for "Superman III" (1983), and the Salkinds further produced the 1984 spin-off "Supergirl" before selling the rights to Cannon Films, resulting in the poorly reviewed "" (1987). Ilya Salkind commissioned a fifth "Superman" script before Warner Bros. acquired the rights entirely in 1993. Over the course of eleven years, Warner Bros. would develop and then