Question: In relation to "Superman Returns",since it's supposed to take place after "Superman II," which version is considered canon? The Lester cut or the Donner cut?
Tailkinker
8th Dec 2006
Superman II (1980)
Answer: Bryan Singer has a great relationship with Richard Donner and his wife, whose production company has produced all of the X Men movies, 4 of which Singer directed. Singer would have also directed X-Men: The Last Stand, but decided to do Superman Returns instead. He absolutely made Superman Returns building from Donner's cut of Superman 2. Superman Returns spoiler ahead: in Superman Returns, Lois Lane has a child. We see that the child has superhuman strength, and that it is Superman's son with Lois. In Lester's version, Superman and Lois consummate their relationship after he loses his Kryptonian powers, when he is an ordinary man. This would have made an ordinary child. But in Donner's version, Superman and Lois sleep together when he is still Superman, before he chooses to become an ordinary man, explaining why the child we see in Superman Returns has superhuman strength.
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Answer: There's been no categorical statement, but given that the theatrically released Lester cut is the one that everybody knows, with the Donner cut being a relatively unknown curiosity, it would seem much more logical to consider that the Lester cut to be the canonical version of the story.
Tailkinker ★