Monday, 5 July 2010

Coming Soon From Cannon...?

Though audience and critical response to Superman IV: The Quest For Peace had been derisory, Cannon films forged ahead regardless by announcing a fifth picture only three months after its failure with an apparent plan to use culled footage from the subplot of IV as the basis for a new feature. (See the deleted scenes here)
This incredibly rare promo from the pages of Daily Variety confirms the film was in 'Pre-Production' with rumours director Albert Pyun was attached (and presumably Christopher Reeve with whatever conditions he demanded just to get him back in the role) but like a glut of other announced projects, (among them Masters of The Universe Part II, part one ironically responsible for Superman IV's cut budget) the film went unrealised due to Cannon's collapse, wherupon the rights reverted back to the Salkinds who would proceed with their own doomed attempt to bring the Man Of Steel back to the big screen...
My sincere thanks go to SuperFan William S. Wilson (see his amazing Movie blog here) for securing an original copy of the promo (scanned above restored to its original state) and adding this grail item to my collection after a long and exhaustive search...
Posted by at 19:41
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4 comments:

  1. Cannon shouldve dropped MOTU, given SIV its full $35m budget and had Dolph play Nuclear Man!

    i bet wed have seen a superman V AND VI in the 1990s then
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  2. Cannon mustve been crazy to think they could use the deleted IV footage for a fifth film. A) it was flat out TERRIBLE and b) it was the same plot as IV!!

    sometimes i think it may have been best if there had never been a Superman IV (not from Cannon anyway) - there would just be the big budget high quality 'Superman Trilogy'

    its a shame the salkinds didnt look to 1988 (supermans 50th anniversary & STM 10th) as an oppertunity to do a big budget IV.

    i think they figured the whole 'Super' franchise had dried up after the relative failure of SIII (which was still a big hit) and Supergirl...but all they had to do was get a great script for IV and the audience wouldve been there...
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  3. I actually think MOTU is easily Cannon's best picture - it has incredible production design/costumes. It remains a guilty pleasure.

    As for Superman's 50th anniversary I read in more than one place IV was supposed to coincide with the anniversary as one big celebration. After it bombed this was dropped in favour of the insufferable 50th birthday 'special' hosted by Dana Carvey. Its in the Ultimate Edition box set...
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  4. yeah i actually dig MOTU a little too. thought it was amazing when i saw it at a Cannon cinema in '87 (but i also thought SIV was amazing and saw it four times at the same cinema!)

    i believe the MOTU sequel was going ahead and sets, costumes etc were built but when it was sheleved they got incorperated into the JCVD movie Cyborg. Also another interesting bit of info re MOTU - apparently there was to be a Planet of the Apes style twist at the end where its revealed Eternia was either earth of the far future or another planet that had been populated by a crashed Nasa spacecraft...i think it ended up in the comic adaptation...shame it wasnt included in the movie as that wouldve been pretty cool
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