7 Superman Movie Secrets That Only Real Fans Know

Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a … guy suspended by wires? Movies are full of secrets, and the Superman franchise is no exception. From Kal-El’s secret identity as mild-mannered Clark Kent to the production tricks used to hide the Man of Steel’s flying harness, the Superman movies are all about subterfuge. But there are garden-variety secrets, and then there are the hyper-specific tidbits that only real fans know; the Easter eggs and behind-the-scenes drama that can only be learned by poring over Wikipedia and countless DVD extras.

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In honor of James Gunn‘s Superman, marking the hero’s seventh solo blockbuster, we’ve put together seven Superman movie secrets that only DC diehards will know.

1) Marlon Brando Read His Lines off of a Baby’s Diaper (Superman: The Movie)

Marlon Brando is considered a legend in the acting community, but he had an unconventional method of learning his lines: he didn’t. Believing that the best performances were born from spontaneity, Brando famously refused to memorize any scripts in favor of reading his lines live on set. This was usually done off of cue cards placed within the actor’s eyeline, but for 1978’s Superman: The Movie, the actor used a different approach.

In a scene where Jor-El is preparing to send his infant son to Earth, Brando actually convinced the filmmakers to write his dialogue on baby Superman’s diaper.

2) The Godfather Suggested Superman’s Iconic “S” Should Be of Kryptonian Origin

Speaking of Marlon Brando, the iconic thespian had several ideas on the set of the first Superman — many of them completely off the wall. For example, The Godfather star once suggested that his character, Jor-El, appear as a talking green bagel. As weird as that prompt was, one of Brando’s suggestions actually became a permanent part of the Superman canon.

According to several behind-the-scenes anecdotes, it was Brando who first suggested that Jor-El should wear the same “S” symbol as Superman, essentially changing the symbol’s meaning from just the first letter of the word “Superman” to the official Kryptonian crest of the House of El.

3) The First Superman Stole Its Ending From Superman II

As many fans know, the original plan for the Christopher Reeve Superman films was to shoot Superman: The Movie and Superman II back to back. The first film would have ended on a cliffhanger with General Zod and his lackeys being freed from the Phantom Zone and heading for Earth. The infamous scene where Superman goes back in time by flying around the Earth until it begins spinning backwards was supposed to come at the end of Superman II.

Unfortunately, the dual production went so far over schedule and budget that producers, the Salkinds, decided to halt shooting of Superman II and focus on finishing the first movie. Given that they had no idea if the first film would be successful enough to warrant a sequel, the Salkinds also decided to conclude Superman: The Movie with the time-reversal sequence — an impressive special effect they had already spent a fortune on — rather than saving it for the follow-up.

4) Superman III‘s Supercomputer Was Originally Brainiac

Superman II wasn’t the only sequel to undergo massive changes during production. The initial idea for Superman III was to introduce classic Superman villains Brainiac and Mr. Mxyzptlk, along with Superman’s cousin Supergirl. This version of Superman III was deemed too expensive, and the final shooting script was significantly scaled back.

Mr. Mxyzptlk — a role being tailored for actor Dudley Moore — and Supergirl were jettisoned completely while Brainiac became a nameless supercomputer. While Supergirl would get her own solo movie following Superman III, Brainiac has yet to make his big-screen debut. However, DC Universe head James Gunn’s willingness to embrace the comics’ Silver Age means it’s a matter of “when” rather than “if” the green-skinned cyborg will pop up in a future DCU movie.

5) The Budget for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace Was Cut in Half Right Before Production Started

It was already a stretch to think that Cannon Films, notorious for producing low-budget schlock like Cauldron of Blood and Hard Rock Zombies, could create a worthy follow-up to the three Salkind-produced Superman movies. When the film’s budget was slashed from $30 million to $17 million just prior to shooting, it was all but guaranteed that Superman IV would fail at the box office.

That’s not to say that more money could have fixed what’s largely considered one of the worst sequels ever made, but at least it would have been a nicer-looking trainwreck.

6) Brandon Routh Had to Wear Blue Contacts (Superman Returns)

Superman Returns may be the black sheep of the franchise now, but at the time, the title role attracted everyone from Will Smith to Brendan Fraser. Relative unknown Brandon Routh not only beat out the above actors for the role, but also Josh Hartnett, Paul Walker, and even a very young Henry Cavill. Everything about Routh was perfect for Superman, from his mannerisms to his chiseled jaw, with one glaring exception: his eyes were the wrong color.

The solution? Force the brown-eyed Routh to wear blue contact lenses — not a huge stretch given the actor already wore prescription contacts. The only problem, according to Routh, was that the contacts were painted white around the blue and had a tendency to slide around whenever he blinked.

7) Henry Cavill Screen-Tested in Christopher Reeve’s Suit

Before Henry Cavill donned the more muted, modern-looking suit he wore in Man of Steel, the actor tried on the same red-and-blue tights worn by Christopher Reeve. According to director Zack Snyder, the Man of Steel suit didn’t yet exist when Henry Cavill first auditioned to play Superman. As a result, Snyder was forced to improvise and had Cavill put on Reeve’s suit to give him a sense of how the actor would look dressed as The Last Son of Krypton.

Both Snyder and Cavill were pleased with the results, with the former proclaiming, “Dang, you’re Superman!” and Cavill calling the experience “extremely cool,” going so far as to declare, “There’s no other feeling like it.” While Cavill’s Man of Steel suit would ultimately prove to be a better fit for his portrayal of Superman, it’s still interesting to see him wearing such an iconic costume.

What are your favorite Superman secrets? Let us know in the comments!