 Kilmer 's poem was recited in the 1980 film Superman II , as well as its 2006 director 's cut . In the scene , villain Lex Luthor ( played by Gene <unk> ) and others enter Superman 's Fortress of Solitude and comes across a video of an elder ( John Hollis ) from planet Krypton <unk> " Trees " as an example of " poetry from Earth literature " . Luthor ridicules the poem . 
