After the success of the first Batman movie plans for a Superman movie, eventually called "Superman: The Man of Steel", began to move forward. It was quickly decided to recast Superman and disconnect the new film from the previous reeve franchise, though ultimately both Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder would cameo as the Kents.
Before Superman could be cast, a director needed to be found. Steven Spielberg was one of many who was offered a shot at the director's chair, but he turned them down. It was from Spielberg that George Lucas heard about the project. Lucas was interested in doing a Superhero movie, and had fond memories of the Fleischer animated serials in his youth, so he contacted the studio and entered negotiations. It was soon confirmed, and the hunt for a Superman began.
Lucas chose to do what he had for Star Wars are targeted unknowns to play the lead roles of Clark Kent and Lois Land. Inspired by Christopher Reeve's performance, Lucas held separate auditions for Clark and Superman, so that he could find someone capable of nailing both aspects. He found his Superman in actor Bryan Cranston, and his Lois Lane in Renee.
With the leads cast, the villains were then sought out. Lucas envisioned a film that was part mob movie and part alien invasion, and so he picked Intergang and Brainiac to be the central villains. Brainiac was portrayed physically by actor Kane Hodder, and his voice was provided by Peter Cullen. Intergang's leader Bruno Mannheim was portrayed by frequent Lucas Collaborator Harrison Ford, though Ford stipulated that Mannheim had to be killed off during the movie, since he was not interested in another franchise. Superman's archnemesis Lex Luthor was portrayed by actor Patrick Stewert.
The film was a financial success upon release, however critical perception was more mixed. Most agreed that O'Connor and Cranston were the movie's standout performances, however Ford's performances were called generic and it was almost universally agreed that Stewert's minimal role was a waste of a good actor. Cullen's performance was outright ignored by many critics because of it's strictly vocal nature, though those that did address it typically considered it to be solid. Many also saw the plot as haphzardly put together, with many saying that the first two acts were "Nothing but talking and random action sequences." The third act, which depicts Superman's fight against Brainiac's invasion of metropolis, was highlighted as being more solid.
The film was a special effects extravaganza. The first two thirds featured primarily practical effects, whereas the finale was filled with CG effects. Though spectacular for their time these CG effects have aged poorly, and nowadays the practical effects are given more praise.
Superman: The Man of Steel was the first film in the DCEUP to win an Oscar, in this case for special effects and Score. The original Batman film had been nominated for art direction but lost. Batman: Killing Joke had received several nominations but won none.
In the end, the film did well enough to be considered a success, but not well enough to make Studio's green light a sequel. It's success combined with Batman: Killing Joke did make DC turn to it's less iconic franchises for film adaptations, which would lead to it's 1994 smash hit, The Flash
