THE film director who was fired by telegram midway through shooting his sequel to Superman is to finally release his version of the film after nearly 30 years. Richard Donner, who was replaced as director of Superman II after a spectacular falling out with his producers, will release his director’s cut of the film on November 20.

The new version, which includes 15 minutes of previously unseen footage of Marlon Brando playing Superman’s father, is radically different from the cinema release. Donner has also inserted footage from screen tests to substitute for scenes that he did not have time to shoot. One restored sequence involves Clark Kent, Superman’s alter ego, being tricked by his girlfriend into revealing his secret identity.

In the theatrical release, Kent gives away his secret when he accidentally places his hand in a fire but does not get burnt. Donner’s version shows Kent reacting with superhero speed when Lois Lane, his girlfriend, shoots at him with a gun loaded with blanks.