Hackman returned as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection II in 1975, and that year he also starred in Bite the Bullet, Night Moves, and the notorious flop Lucky Lady, co-starring Liza Minnelli, and Burt Reynolds. He scored a success with his portrayal of supervillain Lex Luthor in 1978's Superman, which starred Christopher Reeve as the legendary man of steel. Hackman reprised his role in two sequels: Superman II (1980) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).