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 (1978 film) "Superman"—which began filming in March 1977—and the other films, stating that "I did not know about 'Star Wars'; 'Star Wars' did not know about 'Superman'; 'Close Encounters' did not know about 'Superman.' It really was completely independent—nobody knew anything about anybody." "Superman" also established the superhero film genre as viable outside the production of low-budget Saturday matinee serials. Director Christopher Nolan cited Richard Donner's vision and scope of "Superman" when pitching the concept for "Batman Begins" to Warner Bros. in 2002. The movie inspired The Kinks' 1979 song "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman", when the band's main songwriter, Ray