[1
Television series featuring Superman and
Superboy would also debut in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. In 1966 came the
Broadway musical
It's
a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
, remade for television in 1975. Also in 1966, Superman starred in
the first of several animated television series
The New Adventures of Superman
.
Superman returned to movie theaters in 1978 with director
Richard Donner
's
Superman
,
starring
Christopher Reeve
, which spawned three sequels and was the most successful Superman
feature film.
[1
DC Comics has had little creative control over these in movies: When Warner Bros.
sold the movie rights to Superman to the Salkinds in 1974, it demanded control over the budget and
the casting but left everything else to the producers' discretion.
[181]
In 2006,
Bryan Singer
directed the feature
Superman Returns
, starring
Brandon Routh
. In 2013,
director
Zack Snyder
rebooted the film franchise with
Man of Steel
, starring
Henry Cavill
. Snyder
also directed its 2016 sequel,
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
, which featured Superman
alongside
Batman
and
Wonder Woman
for the first time in a live-action movie. Cavill will reprise his
role as Superman in the 2017 film
Justice League
.
Tyler Hoechlin
is set to play Superman in the
second season of the
Supergirl
TV series.
Musical references, parodies, and homages
A building with a painted caricature of
Barack Obama
in Superman's clothes in its facade.
Superman has also featured as an inspiration for musicians, with songs by numerous artists from
several generations celebrating the character.
Donovan
's
Billboard
Hot 100
topping single "
Sunshine
Superman
" utilized the character in both the title and the lyric, declaring "Superman and
Green
Lantern
ain't got nothing on me."
]
Folk singer-songwriter
Jim Croce
sung about the character in a list
of warnings in the chorus of his song "
You Don't Mess Around with Jim
", introducing the phrase "you
don't tug on Superman's cape" into popular lexicon.
[184]
Other tracks to reference the character
include
Genesis
' "
Land of Confusion
", the video to which featured a
Spitting Image
puppet
of
Ronald
Reagan
dressed as Superman,
[186]
"
(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
" by
The Kinks
on their 1979
album
Low Budget
and "Superman" by
The Clique
, a track later covered by
R.E.M.
on its 1986
album
Lifes Rich Pageant
. This cover is referenced by
Grant Morrison
in
Animal Man
, in which
Superman meets the character, and the track comes on
Animal Man
's
Walkman
immediately
after.
Crash Test Dummies
' "
Superman's Song
", from the 1991 album
The Ghosts That Haunt
Me
explores the isolation and commitment inherent in Superman's life.
]
Five for Fighting
released
"
Superman (It's Not Easy)
" in 2000, which is from Superman's point of view, although Superman is
never mentioned by name.
]
From 1988 to 1993, American composer
Michael Daugherty
composed
"
Metropolis Symphony
", a five-movement orchestral work inspired by Superman comics.
