Marc McClure in the context of "Superman in film"

Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and has a good working relationship with his boss Perry White. Olsen looks up to his coworkers as role models and parent figures. From 1954 to 1982, Olsen appeared in 222 issues of the comic series Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and Superman Family, in addition to the main Superman titles.

The character has appeared in most other media adaptations of Superman. He was portrayed by Tommy Bond in the two Superman film serials, Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950); Jack Larson in Adventures of Superman; Marc McClure in the Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1984 film Supergirl; Michael Landes in the first season of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Justin Whalin in the subsequent three seasons; Sam Huntington in the 2006 film Superman Returns; Aaron Ashmore in The CW's Smallville; and Michael Cassidy in the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In the Arrowverse series Supergirl, he was portrayed by Mehcad Brooks. Douglas Smith portrayed the character in Superman & Lois. In Superman (2025), he was portrayed by Skyler Gisondo.

Supergirl is a 1984 British superhero film directed by Jeannot Szwarc from a screenplay by David Odell based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It is the fourth film in the Superman film series, set after the events of Superman III (1983) and serving as a spin-off of the series. The film stars Helen Slater as Supergirl, along with Faye Dunaway, Hart Bochner, Peter Cook, Mia Farrow, Brenda Vaccaro, and Peter O'Toole, with Marc McClure reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen from the Superman films.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1984 by Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors, and in the United States on 21 November 1984, but failed to impress either critics or audiences, to generally negative reviews from critics. It underperformed at the box office, grossing $14 million against a $35 million budget. Slater was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress. The film's failure ultimately led producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind to sell the Superman film rights to The Cannon Group, Inc. in 1986.

Superman II is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment in the Superman film series and a sequel to Superman (1978). A direct continuation of the first Superman, Christopher Reeve reprises his role as Superman. The returning cast includes Gene Hackman, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, Marc McClure, Jackie Cooper, and Jack O'Halloran. The film's plot features the arrival of General Zod and his comrades on Earth, following their release from the Phantom Zone (a prison that had been made by the people of Krypton). Zod seeks revenge for imprisonment by pursuing the planet's last son, Kal-El, alias "Superman". As a result, Kal-El, who had unknowingly freed them, must now face threats from his long-dead home planet. Zod also allies with Lex Luthor, who still aspires to world domination. The hero also faces an internal conflict, torn between his duties as Earth's hero and his desire to live amongst them solely as Clark Kent, and especially with his love interest, Lois Lane.

In 1977, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind decided that they would film Superman and its sequel simultaneously; principal photography began in March 1977 and ended in October 1978. Tensions rose between original director Richard Donner and the producers, as a result of which a decision was made to stop filming the sequel, 75 percent of which had already been completed, and simply finish the first film. After the release of Superman in December 1978, Donner was fired as director and replaced by Lester. Several members of the cast and crew declined to return to complete the sequel in the wake of Donner's firing. In order to be officially credited as the director, Lester re-shot most of the film: principal photography resumed in September 1979 and ended in March 1980.