When the rumor that Warner Brothers was rebooting their Superman franchise, it was a bit of a surprise. Then the studio announced JJ Abrams as a producer with a script from scribe Ta-Nahisi Coates. It appeared that Warner Bros could be embracing their new multiverse model and would be telling the story of a different Superman, one who is a Kryptonian person of color with the power to change the course of mighty rivers.
Much of the news comes from The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision column. They report that WB and DC want to hire a Black director in charge of the first Superman movie featuring a Black actor. According to one insider, “Putting [Producer J.J.] Abrams at the helm would be tone-deaf.”
Warner Brothers finds itself competing with Marvel (again) for the best available director. Marvel will be beginning production on their new Blade franchise right about the same time that Superman is heading into production. Both studios are taking their time to get their scripts ready. (Coates’ script for Superman is expected by the end of the year. Marvel is taking their time with Stacy Osei-Kuffour’s Blade script.)
A New Superman For A New Universe
With this reboot, WB wants to showcase diversity and representation. Finding the right actor and director for the first on theatrical Black Superman is very important to them. As for who will wear the big red S, Michael B. Jordan’s name is on everyone’s lips. He certainly has let the studio know he would be open to playing the part, should he be asked.
This new Superman film will be set in its own universe, meaning they could choose to do anything with him. They could tell the story of Calvin Ellis, the Superman of Earth 23. A Superman who also serves as President of the United States. Created by Grant Morrison, Calvin first appeared in “Final Crisis” (2009), just as America swore in its first Black President with Barack Obama. There is also Val-Zod, the second Superman of Earth 2 from the New 52 era.
Next year’s Flash film introduces a multiverse to DC’s cinematic world. It gives DC a chance to tell new versions of classic stories and have them exist in parallel. It is what lets them have 3 different versions of Batman arrive in theatres. Two, Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton, in the Flash movie and Matt Reeves‘ The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson. The Batman has already been described as taking place on Earth 2 in some circles. The new Superman film also will be in its own reality, separate from the continuity that started with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel back in 2013. The Flash puts an end to the ‘Snyder-verse’ and reboots it into something new. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Mamoa), and Shazam (Zachary Levi) all having sequels and spinoffs in development. They aren’t throwing the whole thing out.
That said, this new Superman will stand alone from them. You would think WB could take a chance and do something really different. But the word right now is they don’t want to stray too far from the classic comic origins of Superman. With a whole multiverse to choose from, it comes as a bit of a letdown to hear that Warner Brothers wants a Superman story that follows the classic comic formula: Baby Kal-El arrives on Earth, gets adopted and raised by a Midwestern couple, and discovers his heritage before going out into the world to become the Man of Steel. The same story, with just more melanin.
Now the story of Kal-El coming to Earth is not a story that is inherently about race. It is an immigrant story. He could have been portrayed with any skin color. But the immigrant experience is a very different story for most Black Americans. So, while we’re getting to see a Black Superman, in a story from a Black writer, with a Black Director, the WB is missing an opportunity to give this Superman his own identity.
It serves the story better to give this Superman his own story. Imagine WB making the Tangent comics version of Superman? Even the Calvin Ellis version has his own origin story that they could tell. Or if Warner Brothers really wanted to show diversity and representation, they could tell the story of Icon. Milestone Media’s superhero is a Black Superman in almost every way but without the name and baggage that comes with it.
Choosing to use one of the lesser-known versions of Superman (or even creating a brand new version of the character) instead of just dressing up the well-known one with the trappings of diversity could really demonstrate Warner Brothers’ commitment to representation. Let’s hope that at this stage of pre-production, someone will steer Warner Bros in the right direction.
