While Batman is not swinging into theaters this summer, Batkid is. Warner Bros. said today that the documentary Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around The World will get a theatrical release in June.
According to a tweet from Exhibitor Relations, the studio plans to release the film on June 26. The film was directed by Dana Nachman.
The film is about Miles Scott, the young boy diagnosed with leukemia who wished to be Batman for a day. The Make-A-Wish Foundation famously pulled off the wish in November 2013, when San Francisco officials agreed to turn the city into Gotham City for a day. Miles got to defeat Batman villains and see his exploits on the front pages of the newspapers. At the end of the day, he even got the key to the city.
Miles’ story went viral and has not been forgotten. Of course, Warner Bros.’ New Line snapped up distribution rights for Batkid Begins, just as it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. New Line is also developing a narrative feature based on Miles’ story, with Julia Roberts starring and producing.
It will be interesting to see how wide a release Batkid Begins gets. The major studios don’t typically release documentaries, but this is such a well-known story that it will hopefully go wide.
screenshot from Make-A-Wish Foundation Greater Bay Area YouTube video