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."
Wes Craven was set to direct, but was replaced after creative differences with star Christopher Reeve.
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.
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.
When Nuclear Man was being developed, Christopher Reeve was approached to play that part as Superman's polar opposite, or a darker version of Bizarro.