HBO Max Announces ‘Superman’ will stream in ASL

In a press release published earlier this week, HBO Max announced the summer’s superhero blockbuster, Superman, is slated to “make its global streaming debut” on the service this Friday, September 19. Notably for inclusion and accessibility, the film has an exclusive special stream presenting dialogue in American Sign Language (ASL).

Superman is done by Deaf interpreter Giovanni Maucere and directed by Leila Hanaumi.

“In his signature style, [director] James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind,” HBO Max wrote of Superman in its announcement.

Clark Kent/Superman is played by David Corenswet, while Rachel Brosnahan portrays Lois Lane. (Brosnahan resonates with me personally, as she was the central character, Miriam Maisel, in Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel—one of my favorite shows ever.)

That HBO Max is showing Superman in ASL continues on the trail it has blazed with other content I’ve covered before, such as Sinners and The Last Of Us. In addition, the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned TNT—Warner is the parent company of HBO Max—has offered its acclaimed “NHL × ASL” broadcasts, the production of which has won Sports Emmys. Last November, I interviewed Brice Christianson, a fellow CODA whose deaf inclusion company PXP partners with the National Hockey League on the telecasts,