Alexander and Ilya Salkind had been connected with the Superman franchise since they struck a licensing agreement with Warner Communications, the parent company of both Warner Bros. and DC Comics, in the 1970s. This enabled the father-son tandem to produce any project they so desired with several Superman related properties, and they took advantage of this by producing three films starring Christopher Reeve as Superman. While the first and second films were critical and financial successes, the third was not. The Salkinds sold their Superman film license to The Cannon Group, which produced a Superman film that also flopped.