The November 2024/Broadwater Theater, script reading of Superman Reborn (aka Superman V) is on YouTube, and a fine, spot-on presentation it is.
For those know-it-alls who don't know, Superman Reborn was conceived by Ilya Salkind, Mark Jones and Carey Bates for Christopher Lee and Margot Kidder as a relaunch for further, high-quality, Kal-El adventures. It features the city-shrinking android, Brainiac, who was once slated as the prime antagonist for Superman III.
The script reading is narrated by director Ray Carsillo, accompanied by the following performers: Jonathan Cahill as Superman/Clark Kent; Kenna Roubicek as Lois Lane; Caitlin Morris as Martha Kent; Barry Papick as Perry White; Bill Kates as Max-Dur; Veronica Warner as Lyla Lerrol; Jamal Henderson as Brainiac; and David Pinion as Jimmy Olsen and Brainiac's reluctant companion, Kosmo.
Jones and Bates' script was designed to prompt nostalgia, not only for Reeve's Superman movies, but for pop-cultural heroes in general, such as Tarzan, Dirty Harry, the Rifleman, the Lone Ranger and Tonto. It also contains a scene where Ronald and Nancy Regan present Superman with a award of thanks for having saved the day, in an evident nod to Superman II, in which E.G. Marshall portrays the President. (I imagine that for Superman Reborn, the segment would have been rendered ala Forrest Gump, with archival and current footage spliced for uncanny effect.)
Superman Reborn would have been a magnificent, cinematic comeback for Reeve and Kidder, and a dream come true for fans of their franchise. It's a shame it didn't reach fruition, but its foundation works, as the stirring, script reading proves. In fact, the content would work as an effective, animated feature (in the vein of the Adam West/Burt Ward, Batman animated movies of a few years back.) Let's hope DC & WB gets off their collaborative duff and make the obvious happen, and after that do one for the ill-fated Tim Burton/Nicolas Cage Superman Lives.
For now, enjoy Superman Reborn's stage dramatization at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urF2GcPhUFA&t=4759s
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