Seeing a major studio jump on any type of documentary is rare, so Universal must believe that something special is going to happen here, either with the production of the movie, or with the public’s interest in the real-life story. Perhaps they picked it up anticipating or having obtained access to the man himself, whose got some legal bills to pay and could use the cash.

This doc will almost certainly beat the aforementioned biopic to theaters, but no date has been announced yet. Gibney has made a name for himself by directing docs on Enron, Eliot Spitzer, Jack Abramoff, Hunter S. Thompson, Guantanamo Bay, so it’s no surprise that he got the call for one of the most compelling sagas of 2010-2011. Even money says Assange sounds just like Hans Gruber from Die Hard. (Playlist)