Super/Man,” a documentary about the life of Christopher Reeve, is finalizing a deal to sell to Warner Bros. Discovery following its buzzy Sundance Film Festival premiere. It’s an interesting home for the documentary, because Reeve experienced his greatest commercial success playing the Man of Steel in the first four Superman movies, which Warner Bros. produced. James Gunn, the co-head of Warner-owned DC Studios, is currently reviving the character in the upcoming “Superman: Legacy,” which he wrote and will direct.
It’s unclear how the deal will be structured, but sources say that it could include some kind of distribution under the DC Studios banner, as well as involve some kind of showing on CNN, which Warner Bros. Discovery also owns. It would also involve showings on Max, the company’s streaming service. The sale has not closed, so it’s possible it could collapse at the eleventh hour, but the negotiations are exclusive.
Heading into the festival, “Super/Man” was expected to be one of the biggest sales of the event’s 40th edition. Before the movie was screened in Park City for audiences and buyers, several studios and streamers were already planning to bid aggressively to land rights. The pact is for global rights and is in the $14 million to $15 million range.