Christopher Reeve’s son Will: How ‘Superman’ cast honored late actor

The spirit of Superman lives on.

Will Reeve, whose father Christopher Reeve provided one of the most iconic portrayals of the Man of Steel to grace the screen, has revealed how the cast of “Superman” paid tribute to his late dad’s legacy on the set of the new movie.

The cast and crew came together to watch a documentary about his dad’s life before filming the James Gunn-directed project, which is now in theaters.

“I do have a secondhand story from the set of the new movie,” Will, 33, exclusively told the Post. “It’s actually quite meaningful to me to have learned.”

“Right before this cast and crew of this new ‘Superman’ began principal photography, they gathered to watch ‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.’ Some of the actors have told me that watching that helped them contextualize and better understand how much it meant to get this movie right,” he explained.

“And to do right by not only the fans who love this character and this franchise, but also loved my dad and knowing how much playing Superman meant to my dad as well.”

“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” was released in November 2024. The documentary focuses on the late star’s rise to stardom upon being cast as Superman in the 1970s, and the shocking horse-riding accident that tragically left him paralyzed in May 1995.

The doc also shines a light on how the actor established the Christopher Reeve Foundation (later renamed the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation) and spent the remainder of his life looking for a cure for spinal cord injuries.

Will said that he and his two siblings “really were touched” to learn that the “Superman” cast watched the documentary before filming on the new movie.

Christopher shared his first two kids, Matthew Reeve, 45, and Alexandra Reeve Givens, 41, with his former partner Gae Exton. He later married Dana Reeve in 1992, and the couple welcomed Will that same year.

“It all coalesced into what I understand to be a great feeling of camaraderie and responsibility and passion and purpose, in which we really were touched to hear when we learned that they had all screened our documentary as a way to kick off their journey,” he said.

After portraying the Man of Steel and his alter ego, Clark Kent, in “Superman” in 1978, the actor returned to the role three more times for “Superman II” (1980), “Superman III” (1983) and “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987).

The late star, however, didn’t share too many stories from his time playing the Last Son of Krypton.

“Not really, to be honest,” Will said. “Not because they don’t exist, but because much of my time spent with my dad, which ended up only being 12 years, was not spent talking about Superman or any other role that he played. It was much more grounded in our daily existence.” 

Christopher died from heart failure in 2004 at the age of 52. His wife and Will’s mother, Dana, passed away from lung cancer two years later at 44.

“Of course, after he got injured, a lot of our daily life centered around my dad’s injury and us navigating all that entailed,” Will explained. “He was focused much more on being a present and engaged father than he was in regaling me with tales of the old days.”

“But he always remembered his time as Superman, and in making those movies fondly and with a sort of reverence, because he knew how important Superman the character is to so many people worldwide across generations,” Will added.

“And he felt a great responsibility, I know, to make that role resonate and matter around the world, and he succeeded in that mission, and I think that’s how he viewed his time.”

The latest “Superman” installment paid tribute to Will’s dad by giving the 33-year-old Reeve a cameo in the new movie.

His appearance parallels his real-life career as a correspondent for ABC News.

“It was such a treat,” he said about his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene. “I was honored to get the call from the wonderful filmmakers, and I jumped at the opportunity.”

“And it was a nice homage, I think, to my dad, who for millions of people has been Superman for generations,” Will added. “And for the filmmakers of this new version of Superman to include me as a way to include him meant a lot.”

As for the new movie itself, Will said it is “everything that a great superhero blockbuster movie can and should be.”

“It’s just so fun,” he told The Post. “I think that Superman, the character, is a bit quirky and slightly corny, earnest. Pure of heart, so on and so forth. And that shines through.”

“I think that’s what made my dad’s version so resonant with audiences back when it came out and through to the present day,” Will continued, “because he played the character as it was ideally conceived, and really, he embodied it.”

The latest “Superman” movie stars David Corenswet, 32, as the newest Man of Tomorrow.

Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor), Nathan Fillion (Green Lantern) and Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen) round out the cast.

While Will praised the film as a whole, he complimented Corenswet’s Superman portrayal in particular. He also shared what he thinks was his father’s “greatest work” as the Caped Kryptonian.

“… Convincing audiences to believe not only that a man could fly, but also that the same being was also Clark Kent, who was a bit bumbling and awkward,” Will told The Post.

“I don’t know what it’s like to play Superman, but from what I can tell, there’s a trick you have to pull off, and I commend David for doing that, and for picking up the torch.”