Christopher Reeve’s son to cameo in James Gunn’s Superman film

Actor passed away in 2004 following severe paralysis after a near-fatal horseriding accident

Christopher Reeve’s son is set to cameo in the forthcoming movie, Superman, directed by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.

Will Reeve, 32, who is a journalist and ABC news correspondent in real life, will play a TV reporter onscreen as the production pays homage to his father who was one of the first to immortalise the Man of Steel in cinema.

His father, Christopher played the superhero in the 1978 movie and ensuing sequels including Superman II in 1980, Superman III in 1983 and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987.

However, he was severely injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995, which left him paralysed from the neck down. He passed away in 2004.

Filming is currently underway in Cleveland, as reports from behind the scenes revealed Will’s participation in the movie. Variety described the role as a “cameo”, although further details were not provided.

The news comes as the presenter has been promoting a documentary about his late father’s life, alongside his older siblings. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story follows the former Superman’s life and career, which Will, who was three at the time of his dad’s death, called a “gift”.

“The majority of my memories of my dad involve him after the accident because I was not yet three years old when he was injured,” Will told Variety at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

“So to see his entire life leading up until that time laid out so poetically and cinematically and authentically by our wonderful directors has been a real gift for me.”

Reeve will cameo in the forthcoming movie in an apparent tribute to his late father (Getty Images/Threads/James Gunn)

The upcoming superhero movie will star David Coresnwet as Clark Kent, and will be the first instalment in the rebooted DC Universe, which is being overseen by Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran.

Gunn, 57, previously directed the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise for Marvel Studios before taking over as the co-CEO of rival comic book studio DC in 2022.

Christopher Reeve played the Man of Steel before suffering a near-fatal accident (Warner Brothers/Superman)

Soon after taking the role, Gunn announced that his rebooted DC universe would begin with a Superman movie titled Superman: Legacy. In February that title was shortened to simply Superman.

Gunn shared the first image of Corenswet wearing the iconic Superman suit on Threads earlier today (6 May).

Superman is set to arrive in cinemas on 11 July 2025.