ESPN pulls Frank Marshall’s ‘Rachel, Breathe’ documentary hours before premiere

Update [4/20/2026, 10:25 a.m. ET]: This post has been updated to include comment from an ESPN source confirming the network pulled the documentary after it failed to reach a licensing agreement prior to Sunday’s scheduled premiere. ESPN remains in discussions with Marshall to license the project.

A documentary slated to premiere on ESPN2 on Sunday evening was abruptly pulled, with the director citing a dispute over the film’s rights as reason the debut was shelved.

Famed producer and director Frank Marshall, whose credits span legendary films like Back to the Future and The Goonies to documentary films like The Beach Boys, took to social media on Sunday to inform followers that his project Rachel, Breathe would not be shown on ESPN2 due to a dispute with “ESPN lawyers.”

I’m sad to report that RACHEL, BREATHE, will not premiere on ESPN2 today. After several days of negotiations that should have been very simple and were not about money, but rights, the ESPN lawyers stopped talking to us an hour before broadcast and said, “sign it now or we are…

— Frank Marshall (@LeDoctor) April 20, 2026

“I’m sad to report that RACHEL, BREATHE, will not premiere on ESPN2 today,” Marshall wrote. “After several days of negotiations that should have been very simple and were not about money, but rights, the ESPN lawyers stopped talking to us an hour before broadcast and said, ‘sign it now or we are pulling the show.'”

Rachel, Breathe is a documentary chronicling the remarkable journey of Rachel Foster, who completed the Boston Marathon just five months after waking up from a coma “no one expected her to emerge from,” per the film’s synopsis.

“I’m extremely disappointed for Rachel and John and entire team that spent 2 years making this film about hope, love and friendship,” Marshall continued. “We remain genuinely excited for the day this documentary reaches the world, it is simply not tonight. And just like Rachel, we remain resilient and the moment I know where and when the premiere is, you will hear from me.”

On Monday, an ESPN source confirmed to Awful Announcing that the film did not air as scheduled because the two sides failed to finalize a licensing agreement. Per the source, additional terms were introduced late in the process that could not be resolved before the scheduled premiere on Sunday evening. The network remains in discussions to finalize a licensing agreement for the film.

Instead of Rachel, Breathe, ESPN2 re-aired 26.2 To Life in the planned timeslot. With the Boston Marathon being run on Monday, Sunday night would’ve been the most sensible window to air the documentary.

It’s unclear exactly what terms caused talks to break down at such a late hour, or if it is typical for new terms to be added to a licensing agreement mere hours prior to a scheduled debut. There certainly have not been similar circumstances in recent memory.