Christopher Reeve publicly regretted his involvement in the film. He wrote in his memoir, "Superman IV was a catastrophe from start to finish. That failure was a huge blow to my career."
According to Margot Kidder, she and Christopher Reeve did not get along during filming. Kidder states that Reeve's ego was inflated because he co-wrote the story.
Wes Craven was set to direct, but was replaced after creative differences with star Christopher Reeve.
The movie's original budget was $36 million. Just before filming was to begin, The Cannon Group, Inc., which was experiencing financial problems, slashed the budget to $17 million. The filmmakers cut corners by doing things like re-using special effects.
The failure of this film at the box office prompted "The Cannon Group Inc." to cancel a planned production of "Spider-Man".