Michael B Jordan has been suggested to play Superman
A new Superman movie is being developed by
Star Wars director J.J. Abrams and acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Coates will write the script, with Abrams producing.
According to
The Hollywood Reporter, sources say it is being set up as a Black Superman story.
"To be invited into the DC Extended Universe by Warner Bros., DC Films and Bad Robot is an honor," said Coates in a statement to
Shadow and Act. "I look forward to meaningfully adding to the legacy of America's most iconic mythic hero."
"There is a new, powerful and moving Superman story yet to be told. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with the brilliant Mr. Coates to help bring that story to the big screen, and we’re beyond thankful to the team at Warner Bros. for the opportunity," added J.J. Abrams.
Michael B Jordan was reportedly interested in a Black Superman project in 2019, and The Hollywood Reporter says the actor could be considered for the new project.
Ta-Nehisi Coates made his name as an essayist, writing the best-selling non-fiction books
The Beautiful Struggle,
We Were Eight Years in Power, and
Between The World And Me.
He is no stranger to superheroes though. In 2016 he started writing the main Black Panther title for Marvel Comics, as well as the spin-off
Black Panther and the Crew. Then in 2018, he went on to write Captain America.
His first novel,
The Water Dancer, also concerned a superhuman protagonist, during the Antebellum South.
In 2009, DC Comics introduced Calvin Ellis, the African American Superman of an alternative Earth, created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Doug Mahnk. Calvin Ellis was also President of his reality's version of the United States.
It is not yet known if the film will tie into the current DC movie universe, or be its own standalone project.
