Julia Roberts to Produce and Star in Batkid Begins

Submarine announced today that Julia Roberts is attached to the remake rights to the new documentary, director Dana Nachman’s Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World, on the eve of the film’s world premiere at Slamdance Film Festival.

Roberts, who will produce with partners Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill through their Red Om Films banner, is attached to star in the feature remake of the real life story about how a Make-A-Wish event for Miles – a 5-year-old boy diagnosed with leukemia – turned the boy into Batman through a citywide spectacle with over 25,000 San Francisco residents coming out to participate and a worldwide phenomenon on social media with nearly two billion participants.

The documentary’s director, Dana Nachman, will serve as Executive Producer along with Josh and Dan Braun of Submarine under Submarine’s new remake label Sub/Version that is launching at Sundance. Batkid Begins marks Sub/Version’s first project.

“It’s thrilling to me that Ms. Roberts and her team watched our film and were so moved by it that they want to dedicate their time and creative capital to make sure the widest audience possible will know and love Miles’ story and the spirit of this intimate special event that went global, as much as we do,” says Nachman.

CAA, which brought the project to Roberts, brokered the deal with Sub/Version and will represent the package.

Batkid Begins will have its world premiere this Saturday, January 24 at noon in Park City at Slamdance Film Festival 2015, and all distribution rights for the documentary are currently available worldwide.

You can also check out our 2013 gallery of stills from the actual event in the viewer below:

(Photo Credit: Fayesvision / WENN.com)

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