Gibney says Universal wavered on Musk documentary release
Alex Gibney says Universal Pictures wavered over the international release of Musk, his documentary about Elon Musk. Asked by the New York Times if Universal had wavered in setting up its plans outside North America, he answered “Yes”. He added that he had just met the studio and they were talking concretely about a release plan, as reported by The Guardian.
The answer was short. The rights picture behind it is split.
Universal holds the international distribution rights, the licence to put the film out outside the United States and Canada, after picking them up in 2023. Bleecker Street is releasing the film in the United States. Universal paid millions for those non-North American rights, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
Producer Jessie Deeter made repeated attempts to ask Musk to sit for an interview during production. Musk answered the requests by posting “Gibney is a douche” on X. Gibney has said fear shadowed the making of the film, which traces Musk’s rise from the dotcom era, according to Reuters. At TIFF 2026 he said he wants viewers to reclaim power from tech oligarchs, Reuters reported.
Musk premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The festival organised the screening in its Venice Open, Out of Competition section at Biennale Cinema 2026. The Venice Biennale lists the film at 225 minutes plus a 10-minute intermission, or 3 hours 45 minutes in total, with Justine Musk and Ashley St. Clair named in cast information, according to the Biennale listing and Variety.
After Venice, Musk called the film a “hit piece that misses” and threatened legal action. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Universal had got cold feet over the release. Variety reported the studio had been concerned about legal threats from Musk. Universal said: “We’ve always been committed to releasing this film, and our plans haven’t changed,” as quoted by The Guardian.
For audiences, this means two release tracks to watch. The US path is set with Bleecker Street. The international rollout is still being finalised in talks between the film-maker and Universal.
