Although the upcoming Superman movie starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel was initially planned to be the first film released by James Gunn and Peter Safran's newly formed DC Studios, an unexpected feature entered the picture.
Following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Gunn and Safran acquired the rights to release Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, a new independently funded documentary that tells the story of the legendary actor. The duo then decided that the movie deserved a theatrical release, giving it their full support underneath the DC Studios banner.
However, whilst this acquisition eventually turned out to be great news for the documentary, director duo Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui admit that they were initially worried when Gunn's studio acquired the film. Given that DC Studios are working on huge releases such as 2025's Superman and new movie Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the filmmakers had concerns that their documentary would become lost in the mix.
As Bonhôte tells 12DOVE in a recent interview: "When James and Peter came on, because we made the film independently and they acquired it at Sundance, we were a bit worried about being a documentary within such a big company, one which makes such big tentpole releases. But they really wanted it to be treated as a movie, not just a little doc that you release on a streaming platform or TV. They really wanted people to come and experience it on a big screen."
The director duo soon realized that not only did Gunn and Safran want to send their documentary to theaters, but they wanted to push it all across the world too. For the pair, this was a blessing as Bonhôte adds: "They wanted it to be worldwide. They saw that there were audiences in every part of the world that could actually identify with the film, not just in the US and UK.
"That was a massive push you need to have, that will from the people who distribute your film. A film starts when you think about an idea, but a film doesn't finish until people have experienced it. So, the distribution section is extremely important."
Although a theatrical release wasn't set in stone until DC Studios acquired the documentary, the filmmakers add that they always saw Super/Man as a story that should be told on the big screen.
In fact, that's how they treat every documentary they work on, with The Christopher Reeve Story following in the footsteps of the likes of their 2018 movie McQueen, which was a biopic for fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Bonhôte states that to really connect with audiences, you have to bring these tales to theaters: "Visually, sonically, and emotionally, for the audience you need to do it theatrically.
"Not only because it's big, but you don't get distracted by anything else and you are in communion with other humans. What movies are really about is that sheer emotional exchange and how after a film, if people have been touched they look to each other, have this understanding."
Gunn and Safran's decision to release the film theatrically not only meant a great deal to the filmmakers, but to Reeve's children as well. His three kids Alexandra, Matthew, and Will are always thankful when they see their dad up on the big screen again, so were delighted to see Super/Man release in theaters.
As Alexandra tells us, she also thinks Christopher Reeve himself would be delighted with the decision too: "For our dad to be back on the big screen, we know that he would be so happy. Whether it's pulling up the old footage from Superman auditions or the beautiful images that they use, the filmmakers tell the story in such a powerful way. We're happy to have him come back on the big screen again."
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve story is out in US theaters now, before releasing in UK cinemas on November 1.
For more, check out the upcoming superhero movies that will soon be heading your way.
