Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story Trailer Devastates and Inspires

Movies

Even when he lost the ability to walk, he never stopped making us believe a man could fly. Today, Warner Bros. released a trailer for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, a documentary about the life of Christopher Reeve, the star of Richard Donner’s 1978 superhero film Superman and its three sequels. Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui and featuring interviews with Reeve’s family and friends and archival footage, Super/Man is less about Reeve’s stardom and portrayal of Superman than his life after an accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story will be released in theaters on September 21, 2024. You can see the trailer below:

Super/Man looks to be a mirror to Christopher Reeve’s later life, filled with sadness, tragedy, hope, and determination, all the things that were revealed about the man after his horrible accident, the things that brought him even closer to the icon he portrayed on the screen. Some of those quotes from Reeves are devastating, like him listing the various things he’ll never be able to do again and wondering if his family should “just let [him] go.” It’s something most of us will never understand, but the idea of feeling like your existence is a burden on your loved ones must be unbearable. That Reeve could not only come back from that but turn his condition into a force for good and change, that he could fight for the welfare of others, is remarkable on a human level.

No doubt Super/Man will devote a lot of time to Christopher Reeve’s recovery and activism, the founding of The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation (which seeks treatments and cures for paralysis, spinal injury, and various neurological disorders), and ongoing efforts to help those in situations similar to Reeve’s. I’m also interested in what his children have to say, which sounds ghoulish in a way; I don’t want to treat their suffering as entertainment. But it must have been horrible having to see their father go through this, and I’m sure their mother was put through hell, too. Dana Reeves – who died from lung cancer less than a year after Christopher Reeve passed away – deserves enormous credit for what she had to have shouldered after the accident for her husband and her kids.

I like that Super/Man also has some images, videos, and stories from Christopher Reeve’s younger Hollywood days. I recall reading a few times about his friendship with Robin Williams and how the two supported each other when they were struggling young actors. The wonder in Richard Donner’s voice when he talks about how Reeve walked onto the set and simply was Superman is terrific. When I was a kid, I grew up with Dean Cain’s Superman; he was the one I watched every week with my dad. But Christopher Reeve was always there, someone we all knew even if his Superman films were before our time, and regardless of that, whenever someone mentioned Superman, everyone thought of Christopher Reeve. I’d also enjoy seeing some information on some of his other, lesser-known roles, like those in Deathtrap, Street Smart, or Somewhere in Time.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, no matter how good it is, will be a tough watch; there’s no getting around that. The world lost its breath when Christopher Reeve was paralyzed, just as it marveled at what he did next. The tragedy of his story will wring every tear out of us again, but hopefully, the resilience of the man who will forever be Superman is what we’ll be left with most, the assurance that nothing can destroy a man who embodies the best of the human spirit.