Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a re-edited director's cut of the 1980 film Superman II. It features a significant amount of lost footage shot by the original director, Richard Donner, in 1977 before he was taken off the project and replaced by Richard Lester, who completed the film for its theatrical release. In 2000, during the DVD restoration of Superman: The Movie, editor Michael Thau became interested in completing Donner's version of Superman II. In 2006, Donner's footage of Marlon Brando was discovered and used in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, finally creating the possibility of restoring Donner's cut.