If Christopher Reeve were alive and well today...

[Buried Alien]

Imagine a better world in which Christopher Reeve never suffered his paralyzing accident and is alive, well, and still acting today. Do you imagine he would have partaken in any SUPERMAN-related acting projects during the past 25 or so years? Could you see him portraying Jor-El, Kal-L (e.g. the Earth-Two Superman), or KINGDOM COME Superman in a TV series or movie alongside one of the younger Superman actors?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[bat39]

Imagine a better world in which Christopher Reeve never suffered his paralyzing accident and is alive, well, and still acting today. Do you imagine he would have partaken in any SUPERMAN-related acting projects during the past 25 or so years? Could you see him portraying Jor-El, Kal-L (e.g. the Earth-Two Superman), or KINGDOM COME Superman in a TV series or movie alongside one of the younger Superman actors?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Oh yes! There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that this would be the case. In fact, he'd probably have made his return as Superman faster than Tobey Maguire or Michael Keaton returned to their iconic roles.

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if certain rumors that WB is going to digitally recreate Reeve's Superman turn out to be true...

[Vordan]

Oh yeah he absolutely would be the guy they’d replace Cavill with in the DCEU, no doubt about it.

[DochaDocha]

I think he'd have come around. It seems like most actors who originally try to stay away from roles that made them popular eventually welcome those roles down the line. Pessimistically, I'd say it's because the money gets too hard to ignore. More optimistically, I think it's because seeing fans hang on for decades creates a level of appreciation. So, I think Reeve would've returned in some capacity. Even though he had a period of "moving on" from Superman, he did appear in Smallville, and he probably would've heeded the call to do something big with Superman.

RIP

[Buried Alien]

Oh yeah he absolutely would be the guy they’d replace Cavill with in the DCEU, no doubt about it.

I was thinking more along the lines of them appearing side-by-side as the Pre-COIE and Post-COIE iterations of Superman.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[seismic-2]

Christopher Reeve was born in 1952. Perhaps in a reboot of the franchise within the last decade, he would have been cast as Perry White.

[DochaDocha]

Christopher Reeve was born in 1952. Perhaps in a reboot of the franchise within the last decade, he would have been cast as Perry White.

I think he'd be cast as either Pa or Jor-El.

[Vordan]

I was thinking more along the lines of them appearing side-by-side as the Pre-COIE and Post-COIE iterations of Superman.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Unlikely that would happen, Reeves would have been brought back for the same reason Keaton is, to play support for others in the DCEU because the previous mains were pains to deal with. You don’t get situations as weird as the current DCEU without massive **** ups that make the appeal of bringing 70-80 year old actors back in major roles more attractive than sticking with the younger 30-40 year olds.

[LordMikel]

During Smallville, I could see him portraying a Kingdom Come Superman from an alternate Earth.

[marhawkman]

During Smallville, I could see him portraying a Kingdom Come Superman from an alternate Earth.

That'd be amazing.

[daredevil1]

I think it could've worked in a "Spock Prime" kind of sense. But I think he would've deteriorated physically so much, even if he was finally willing, it would've been hard to do even with him in a wheelchair. I absolutely could've bought that scenario, if Kal was injured on a red sun planet, etc.

[JBatmanFan05]

He definitely would have done more Superman-related projects, as one character or another.

It's sad a bit that only this Superman work gets talked about it seems. Street Smart (1987) and Deathtrap (1982) are two fantastic non-Superman Reeve films.

[Kirk Brent]

I think Reeve would have done Superman V (featuring Brainiac and Kandor) as his swan song to the role. After that, I have a feeling he'd have endorsed the next actor to play Superman (on film or TV) and would have appeared as either Jor-El or Pa.

[bat39]

I was thinking more along the lines of them appearing side-by-side as the Pre-COIE and Post-COIE iterations of Superman.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Oh yeah, that would have happened too. Had Reeve been alive and well, for instance, it'd likely have been him, and not Brandon Routh, in the Arrowverse's COIE adaptation.

But I can easily imagine DC/WB, in a world where Reeve could realistically put on the suit, however old he was, literally making him the centerpiece of a new Superman project. They're doing it with Keaton as Batman right now. And for better or worse, DC/WB, and large swathes of the fanbase, have never been able to get over the Donner Superman movie and Reeve's portrayal.

He definitely would have done more Superman-related projects, as one character or another.

It's sad a bit that only this Superman work gets talked about it seems. Street Smart (1987) and Deathtrap (1982) are two fantastic non-Superman Reeve films.

Deathtrap is just brilliant!

[DABellWrites]

I think people need to remember Reeve was a man who took his stuff very serious. He just wouldn't return to Superman for any good reason. He spent 1987-2002? 15 years away from the character. That's close to two decades. Had he never gotten crippled, and was in good physical shape, Christopher Reeve would return on his terms to do what he wants or if the script is right.

But, definitely if he could work with Richard Donners again.