As "Superman" soared into theaters this week, Will Reeve, son of the late actor Christopher Reeve -- who played the eponymous superhero in the 1978 film and its immediate sequels -- followed in his father's footsteps on the red carpet with a family heirloom up his sleeve to celebrate the premiere.
"It was fabulous," the "Good Morning America" correspondent said after attending the film's world premiere in Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese Theater on Monday night, noting that "they shut down Hollywood Boulevard" as fans lined the streets dressed in costumes, holding signs and cheering, in what Will Reeve described as "the blockbuster-iest thing I have ever seen."
"It was just really fun, everyone was incredibly welcoming and excited about this new movie. I was just glad to be literally a tiny part of it," the 33-year-old said.
Christopher Reeve played the title character in 1978's "Superman" and its three sequels -- 1980's "Superman II," 1983's "Superman III" and 1987's "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" -- and walked in front of the same iconic Los Angeles venue for the 1978 film's premiere, a fact Will Reeve said he "learned on the carpet."
"I'm not sure I had known that going in. It just made it more special," he said. "I do have a connection to this character, this franchise and movie through my dad. He defined the role for so many people for so many years. So, to be walking literally in his footsteps was something special to me."
He added, "I had an homage to him that I didn't tell anyone about: I was wearing his cuff links."
Will Reeve has a cameo in the new James Gunn "Superman," which he said "is very close to home" to his job as a journalist and made the situation "much more comfortable."
"I am no actor. I have immense respect for those who do that professionally, because it is difficult and challenging," he said. "They get takes though, which we don't get in what we do [as journalists]."
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He continued, "I was honored to get to play, truly, a small part. It was a really nice homage to my family's connection to this franchise ... It was nice."
According to Will Reeve, Gunn thanked the cast and crew before the screening began, "and he shouted me out, and I wanted to sort of shrink away and go, 'No, no, this is about you guys. I just had a little cameo.' But it was nice."
The new "Superman" film stars David Corenswet in the title role, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.
The film hits theaters Friday.
