Watch the official trailer for the compelling documentary about Superman actor Christopher Reeve.
To quote Lois Lane: “What a super man.” Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story — a new documentary about the real-life man behind the Man of Steel in 1978’s Superman: The Movie and its sequels — chronicles the life and career of actor and activist Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed from the neck down following an equestrian accident in 1995. The feature-length film, which premiered to critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, will screen only in theaters September 21st and again on Reeve’s birthday, Sept. 25th, with an international rollout slated for later this year.
In the just-released trailer below, Reeve’s children — ABC News correspondent Will Reeve, Matthew Reeve, and Alexandra Reeve Givens, who serve on the Board of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation — reflect on their father’s legacy and his life after the accident.
The documentary is directed by BAFTA Award-nominated filmmakers Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui (McQueen) and includes never-before-seen intimate home movies and an extraordinary trove of personal archive material, as well as the first extended interviews ever filmed with Reeve’s three children about their father, and interviews with the A-list Hollywood actors who were Reeve’s colleagues and friends, including Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon, and Jeff Daniels.
“With 2024 being the 20-year anniversary of our father’s death, that felt like the right time to reintroduce him and his heroic story to the world,” Will Reeve said at Sundance. “And as we met the folks at Passion Pictures and Misfits Entertainment, and Ian and Peter and our friends at Words + Pictures, we knew we had the right team. Everything came together in a way that we knew as a family we could be open and honest and vulnerable and hand everything over to them and see what they came back with. And that trust has been rewarded in a way that we’re just so thrilled about and can’t wait for the world to experience as well.”
Added Reeve Givens, “There are so many different parts of his personality and his passions that come through in the film. He was dedicated to his craft, of course, before the accident, but also after being able to return to acting and directing and showing that a disability wouldn’t hold him back. So that legacy of what it is to care about your career and keep moving even after overwhelming obstacles is one key part of it. But the other part is his life as an advocate. He was an activist again before the injury. And then after the injury, of course, he became known around the world for his advocacy, for medical research and for disability rights.”
Described as “a moving and vivid cinematic retelling of Reeve’s remarkable story,” Super/Man hails from Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films, Words + Pictures, Passion Pictures, Misfits Entertainment, and Fathom Events.
“The story of Christopher Reeve is an astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, and his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today. Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down,” the synopsis reads. “After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care – all while continuing his career in cinema in front of and behind the camera and dedicating himself to his beloved family.”
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is in U.S. theaters on Sept. 21st and Sept. 25th. Tickets are now on sale via the Fathom Events website.
