Superman (1978 film) father on Earth. "Superman" was originally scheduled to be released in June 1978, the 40th anniversary of "Action Comics 1", which first introduced Superman, but the problems during filming pushed the film back by six months. Editor Stuart Baird reflected, "Filming was finished in October 1978 and it is a miracle we had the film released two months later. Big-budgeted films today tend to take six to eight months." Donner, for his part, wished that he had "had another six months; I would have perfected a lot of things. But at some point, you've gotta turn the picture over." Warner
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