Alex Gibney has raised concerns about HBO Max’s future amid Paramount’s takeover bid for the streamer, calling the situation “storm clouds on the horizon.” The warning arrives as Musk, his four-hour documentary about Elon Musk, steps into the spotlight with the billionaire already pushing back against the film. What began as an examination of one of the world’s most influential technology figures has since picked up legal threats, a conspicuous absence from the interview chair and now a corporate question that Gibney says could affect the documentary’s path forward.

The documentary has survived Elon Musk’s refusal to participate, but Gibney now sees a different kind of uncertainty gathering around its streaming release.

Complications began with Elon Musk’s legal team putting Alex Gibney’s production company, Jigsaw Productions, on notice over his documentary, Musk. Attorney Alex Spiro sent a September 3 letter alleging that the film falsely suggests Musk used Starlink to influence the 2024 presidential election and arguing that the filmmakers approached the project with a predetermined conclusion. Gibney has maintained that Musk declined to participate, while Jigsaw has defended the film as a fact-based examination protected by the First Amendment.

Speaking in a keynote conversation at TIFF, Gibney expressed that the legal dispute is not his only concern. The filmmaker also pointed toward Warner Bros. Discovery’s pending transaction with Paramount as a potential complication for HBO, which holds the documentary’s television and streaming rights.

“I do worry about the storm clouds on the horizon,” Gibney said (via The Hollywood Reporter), pointing to Larry Ellison’s connection to Musk and his son David Ellison’s leadership at Paramount.

Gibney nevertheless remains confident in the film’s legal footing, backed by Jigsaw Productions' statement about the filmmaker's authenticity (via THR). The filmmakers consulted lawyers over the project, including the decision to create a computer-generated Musk avatar using words Musk has publicly spoken. That unusual device ultimately received legal clearance, adding another layer to a documentary already built around a subject who chose not to sit for an interview.

Elon Musk Slams New ‘Musk’ Documentary as a “Hit Piece” in Sharp Social Media Outburst

And beneath all that legal noise is the film itself: nearly four hours of Gibney asking how one man accumulated quite so much influence.

Directed and written by Alex Gibney, Musk follows the billionaire from his early life and Silicon Valley rise through Tesla, SpaceX and his acquisition of Twitter (now X), before moving into his increasingly consequential political influence. The film features interviews with figures including Musk’s first wife Justine Musk, former partner Ashley St. Clair, Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard, journalist Kara Swisher, Zoë Schiffer and Geoffrey Hinton.

Musk premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 8, with Bleecker Street set to release it theatrically in the United States on October 16. Gibney expanded the project considerably from its original conception as Elon Musk’s political reach and involvement with the Trump administration grew.

Its creative conceit is equally pointed: because Musk declined to participate, Gibney uses an AI-generated version of him to deliver words drawn from his real public appearances. The result leaves Musk facing two very different battles before it reaches audiences at scale: one with the subject it scrutinizes, and another with the corporate future of the platform that is supposed to carry it beyond theaters.

Unmasking the $50 Million Net Worth of Alex Gibney: The Man Behind the Upcoming Elon Musk Documentary

What do you think of Alex Gibney's warning for the HBO takeover? Let us know in the comments.