The Man of Steel has had an eventful movie career. There have been some undeniable highs, equivalent to a nighttime flight across the Metropolis skyline with Lois Lane, but there have also been some difficult moments too. For every time Superman has squared up to Lex Luthor, Doomsday, or Steppenwolf on the big screen, he’s also had to take on the foibles and politics of the studio system and global box office.
Supes didn’t take long to fly into cinemas. He first appeared in theaters in a series of 17 animated shorts produced by Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios between 1941 and 1943. That was just three years after Big Blue’s debut on the pages of DC’s Action Comics. From there, he was up, up, and on his way to the big screen…
Speeding into movie theaters
Kirk Alyn was the first live-action Superman, starring in a 15-part film serial in 1948 that pitted him against the villainous Spider Lady. A 1950 sequel series, Atom Man Vs. Superman, also comprising 15 parts, had Alyn’s Man of Steel take on Lex Luthor.
George Reeves arrived as the hero in Superman and the Mole Men. That feature was a pilot feature edited into two episodes as part of the Adventures of Superman series that ran between 1952 and 1958. A hugely successful and influential show, its end was preceded by the death of Perry White actor John Hamilton in 1958 and confirmed by the sudden death of Reeves in 1959.
Superman was lodged into popular consciousness as a multimedia icon by the 1960s, but it took until 1978 for a blockbuster relaunch to make people believe a man could fly. The Christopher Reeve-starring sequence of movies confirmed Superman as a major player on comic book pages and the silver screen.
Despite the considerable impact of that 1978 classic — and his famous ability to fly faster than a speeding bullet — Superman’s journey on the big screen hasn’t taken a straight line. There are several ways to follow the Man of Steel on film. We’ve collected the various continuities and how you can watch him soar on film in order of release.
The Christopher Reeve canon
The Richard Donner-directed blockbuster Superman was a phenomenon when it was released and remains one of the best-regarded comic book movies ever made. Donner took risks, most famously paying Marlon Brando $3.75 million and a share of gross for 12 days of work. But he crafted an epic that took its time to bring Kal-El from Krypton to Earth and Clark Kent to Metropolis.
Almost every scene of Superman is an iconic moment in Hollywood history, including its dubious grasp of physics in the third act. Superman was produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, who economized by shooting the first movie and the sequel back to back, as they had done in the early ’70s with The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers. That approach to blockbusters was ahead of its time and added a real sense of continuity to the movies, befitting their comic roots.
Unfortunately, it fell apart when they fired Donner while shooting Superman II and drafted in their regular collaborator Richard Lester. Lester handed in an iconic movie in its own right (thanks to three incredible evil Kryptonians), but if you want the best from the saga, try to get your eyes on the revised Donner Cut released in 2006.
The saga limped to a sad end when the gimmicks of stunt casting in Superman III and the magical spin-off Supergirl didn’t pan out. Reeves refused a cameo in 1984’s Supergirl, but it forms part of the same canon, and you’ll recognize Mark McClure’s Jimmy Olsen in all five movies, including the poorly received final installment.
- Superman (1978)
- Superman II (1980)
- Superman III (1983)
- Supergirl (1984)
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
The Superman Returns canon
Fresh from his success bringing X-Men to movie theaters for Fox, director Bryan Singer brought Superman back to Warner Bros. Superman Returns is regarded as an unfortunate folly. Its only fault was being too faithful to Donner’s features, as it reset the continuity and ignored the events of the third and fourth Superman movies (and Supergirl). While the brilliant casting of Brandon Routh earned plaudits, it’s easy to overlook how it subtly updated the myth for a new age. This sequence is arguably the most consistent in quality.
- Superman (1978)
- Superman II (1980)
- Superman Returns (2006)
The DC Extended Universe
Zack Snyder famously wasn’t sold on the idea of Superman on the big screen, but it’s no surprise he became the lynchpin of the director’s vision for a connected DC universe. This sequence jumps over 2017’s theatrically released Justice League to complete an effective trilogy with Snyder’s epic telling of the League’s first encounter with the forces of Apokolips. It picks up broad sweeps from iconic moments in the comics, including the Death of Superman, Infinite Crisis, and Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, to present a brutal, dark but bold vision of Justice fighting the impossible.
After the original sequences kept Superman’s focus on Lex Luthor, Earth-bound villains and Kryptonians exiled to Earth as plans to include classic extraterrestrial foes like Brainiac fell apart, this sequence lets you experience Superman as a universal beacon.
- Man of Steel (2013)
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Superman movies in release order
For the complete experience, here’s how to catch every live-action feature adventure of Superman in release order. Superman is a universal icon who’s extolled the values of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow for 85 years. He’s a constant and a beacon for the rest of the DC universe. But as this viewing order shows, DC’s mightiest hero is also a mirror that reflects times and sensibilities.
- Superman (1978)
- Superman II (1980)
- Superman III (1983)
- Supergirl (1984)
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
- Superman Returns (2006)
- Man of Steel (2013)
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Justice League (2017)
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
If you want to catch every Superman animated feature, see our complete set of viewing orders in the DCAU. The next cinematic outing for the Last Son of Krypton will be Superman: Legacy, coming July 11, 2025.
