It’s not uncommon to go to a movie and see a post-credits scene. Granted, it means sitting through all of the end credits to get there, but some of them are fun and worth the wait. Nearly all of the Marvel films have post-credits scenes that tease a forthcoming installment or offer a humorous moment.

A few of the recent DC films have had them as well – among them Lynda Carter’s cameo at the end of Wonder Woman ‘84, the race between Superman and Flash in the theatrical version of Justice League, and most recently Henry Cavill’s long-awaited yet ill-timed return at the end of Black Adam. Even all of the Star Wars and Marvel series on Disney+ have post-credits bits. And in the initial theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, a post-credits montage was included to preview the forthcoming release of the trilogy’s second installment The Two Towers.

Thirty or forty years ago, however, it was highly unusual to see a post-credits ending to a movie. The earliest one I can remember came at the end of The Muppet Movie, with Animal looking at the screen and going…

Then came this bit several years later in 1986…

And then there’s this little end bit in a certain 1992 film directed by our beloved Richard Donner…

At one point in its development, Superman: The Movie had a post-credits cliffhanger sequence written at the end of it. In order to see what this sequence would have looked like, we have to go back to the shooting script.

We are all familiar with how the film’s climax occurred, with Superman reversing time in order to save Lois Lane’s life. But as originally written by Tom Mankiewicz, Lois did not die in the film’s finale. Once Superman pushes the boulders and creates the makeshift dam, he returns to find Lois’ car stranded in the middle of the desert. Jimmy Olsen arrives, and the script plays out as seen in the final film, with Superman bringing Lex Luthor and Otis to prison.

From there, after the end credits, we would have seen the other XK-101 rocket soar into space and explode, freeing General Zod, Non, and Ursa from their imprisonment in the Phantom Zone. Zod and Ursa shout, “Free!” and from there the three villains fly towards Earth, which would have set up the start for Superman II.

Call sheets and production logs confirm that the lion’s share of elements for the sequence were filmed and completed prior to the moratorium on filming for Superman II occurred. On October 8, 1977, the flying unit shot the footage of the villains being freed from the Phantom Zone on Pinewood’s M Stage. Further filming occurred a week and a half later, on October 18, 1977, on L Stage. The model unit would also film several shots of the XK-101 missile spiraling through space, along with several explosions. It would be another three decades before all of these elements would be composited together.

From there we would have seen a compilation of scenes from Superman II for the teaser sequence. This excerpt from the Tom Mankiewicz shooting script offers some of the moments that would have been included:

This first moment that is referenced involves Superman and Lois Lane making love in the Fortress of Solitude.

According to production logs, filming on the sequence was scheduled for October 20, 1977 on Pinewood’s M Stage. It is unknown if the sequence was ever filmed, though, according to a 2006 interview with Michael Thau, all of the footage for Superman II had been located and identified. In the Wizard Magazine Superman special edition from 1993, the scene had been particularly hot and heavy and would have given Superman II an R rating. Still, it is inconclusive whether or not the scene exists in the Warner film vaults or was even filmed to begin with. Because so much time has passed and we have nothing to show for it, I am inclined to conclude that it was not filmed.

Next is the sequence of Jor-El appearing before a beaten Clark Kent and restoring his powers to him. This crucial moment was filmed on April 12, 1977, and marked Christopher Reeve’s first day of filming on the Superman films in this scene toward the end of Marlon Brando’s tenure on the film. It would not be until 2006 before the scene would be completed and shown in its entirety in Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.

Then we would have seen the moment of a powerless Clark Kent being beaten up by the malicious bully Rocky in Don’s Diner. This scene was filmed on Pinewood’s North Lot on November 1, 1977, with Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, former pro wrestler turned actor Pepper Martin, and numerous other actors and extras.

From there we would have seen shots of Zod and Ursa causing destruction around the world. Their rampage would have occurred in various places including, but not limited to, Washington, D.C., Paris, Tokyo, and Mount Rushmore. Of these moments, only the model of the destruction of Mount Rushmore was filmed for Superman II, though it was originally intended for Ursa to cause the destruction. This was changed during Richard Lester’s tenure to all three villains using their heat vision to destroy the monument.

For the 2006 release of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, this entire sequence was replaced with a composite shot of the villains destroying the Washington Monument. This was achieved by using flying shots of the villains composited over a background plate of Washington, D.C., which was referenced from Rob Reiner’s 1993 film A Few Good Men. Digital manipulation of the crumbling Washington Monument was added to complete the effect.

In addition to this montage of scenes, footage of Superman fighting Non was filmed on October 26, 1977, on Pinewood’s A Stage, with Christopher Reeve and Jack O’Halloran filmed against a blue screen. This shot was also intended to be included in the teaser.

Another likely candidate for the montage was the shot of Zod kicking Superman into the Statue of Liberty.

Footage was also shot on November 7, 1977, and again on November 9, 1977, on Pinewood’s A Stage with Christopher Reeve filmed against a blue screen background for the ending montage, along with an exterior shot of the Fortress of Solitude.

The montage would have ended in a similar way that the film began, with the child closing the comic book and a caption on the back proclaiming, “Don’t miss the further adventures of Superman! Coming soon!”

Any other scenes that would have been included in the post-credits montage, we simply do not know, but I believe it would have been left up to Richard Donner and editor Stuart Baird to come up with. But what a post-credits ending to Superman we would have had!

(Some of the screenshots in this blog are used courtesy of CapedWonder.com.)