Original Lois Lane Margot Kidder Explains Why the Original Superman Is Still the Best

Sometimes, you just can’t beat the original. And according to Margot Kidder, who played the Lois Lane to Christopher Reeve’s Man of Steel in the original 1978 Superman, such is the case when it comes to cinematic treatments of a certain American hero. In an interview with HeyUGuys at Showmaster’s Film & Comic Con in Glasgow, Kidder discussed where she thought the newer films about the superhero have gone wrong—and, notably, she did so without blaming Zack Snyder, as some disgruntled DC fans have been wont to do.

To Kidder, fans who find themselves nostalgic for the original “always go back because that film was better written and directed,” and “because they were so much truer to the comic books.” Clark Kent was a simpler character back then—“a purely good person,” Kidder said. His M.O. was to save people, defeat the bad guys, and call it a day.

“In that sense, it’s so much simpler than the later films made it out to be,” Kidder said. “I think there was a cynical decision on the part of the studios, which are now owned by multi-national conglomerates just like everything else on the planet. So they would make these artistic decisions by non-artists—guys would want to hit the millennial demographic because they literally make up about one quarter of the population.”

Before anyone jumps to assume this is a diss aimed at Snyder or anyone else who made Batman v Superman, think again. As Kidder said, “I think the directors were good, the actors were good—but the basic approach wasn’t there.”

But the real thorn in Kidder’s side about Batman v Superman? The way it treated Amy Adams’s Lois Lane.

“They took one of the best American actresses around, Amy Adams, and didn’t give her anything to do!”

Kidder said in shock. “I mean, how stupid is that? They made her what used to be the girlfriend, which kind of ended in the 60s with women’s rights.”

Indeed, in the late 1960s, Lois Lane’s relationship with Clark Kent briefly ended, leading her to develop more as a character in her own right—and even work on her self-defense skills. And in 1972, a female editor named Dorothy Woolfolk ushered in a new, distinctly feminist era for the character.

The response to Batman v Superman reportedly rattled Warner Bros. enough for the studio to rejiggerSuicide Squad to be a little less grim, and ostensibly, that anxiety will persist throughout the Justice Leaguefranchise. The studio brought Snyder back for The Justice League Part One, but also promoted Ben Affleck to executive producer in order to lighten the load on Snyder. It seems likely the new installment will take a different approach than the dreary tone of Batman v Superman and Man of Steel—although it’s unlikely that the next movie will make enough of an about-face to address Kidder’s tonal concerns. You never know, though—beefing up Lois’s part, at least, could be a pretty easy fix.

Source: vanityfair.com