Warner Bros. Searching for Black Director & Actor for New Superman Film

[Piscian]

Warner Bros. Searching for Black Director & Actor for New Superman Film

The Ta-Nehisi Coates Superman movie is looking for a Black director and Black actor to star as the lead, potentially for a period piece film.

www.escapistmagazine.com

As a comic nerd I get excited no matter what it is, but I'm pretty concerned that it's Warner Bros. I'd like to start out by saying I'm concerned about their approach, but this is WB. I think we all know it's going to be a train wreck. You only really have the watch that documentary "Death of Superman lives" to see what an utter mess their development thinking is on superhero movies...or just watch the last few movies.

Jokes aside, I am intrigued as to how they will approach the context. Are they going to literally do black superman, same origin story everything or will it be Superman, but with a more "in tune with the times" voice to it. If so, is the locale southern? northern? ruiral? urban? Does it even take place in America? Thats something to think about. I'm kinda glad Michael B Jordan is out. He was amazing as Kill Monger, but I'm not a fan overall. Who would you all cast? It looks like a lot of high profile writers are involved so I'm not too cynical on it just yet, though I am disappointed they're doing this instead of a sequel to Meteor Man.

 

[Agema]

snip

Directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans and starring Marlon Wayans. It's gotta be.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Who would you all cast?

CG Chadwick Boseman as Black Jor-El.

 

[Wintermute]

Robert Downey Jr

 

[BrawlMan]

I had a video about this in a thread that got closed.

​

 

[sXeth]

Really depends on the context here.


Did they write a story that is about Superman landing in (forgive me, I'm Canadian, I'm not super familiar wiht American regions) a more typicaluy black neighbourhood. Or even landing in the south (idk where Kansas is either)/rural america and the resulting struggles.


OR are we just sticking with bog standard Krypton boy, who can certainly be black, green, purple, an amoeba, etc, cause its an alien race. In which case the casting effort is over-specific and obviously pandering.

 

[Gordon_4]

I wonder if ‘Superman film’ here is code for “Steel”. I mean I’d watch a movie about John Henry Irons in a heartbeat. And they’re just announcing it this way because the Internet is a predictable beast.

 

[Samtemdo8]

At this risk of sounding problematic, I still wonder to this day why? What is the need to race swap Superman?

If this is purely and completely the same Superman story just with him being black now, I now only think this move was done so that Black Actors can finally play a role that's not limited to the spectrum of their race. They are not playing "a black character" they are playing Superman.

Because I feel Hollywood often limits Black Actors with only specific roles related to their race. You can only either be a working class struggling guy living in the inner city dealing with systemic racism, or a gangster in the inner city, or a slave in history, or something related to Africa itself.

To quote a line from Fritz the Cat:

"Why does a great actor like James Earl Jones always only have to play 'Black Men'." (Which he did as Darth Vader)

That's what I think this movie is trying to address.

 

[Godzillarich(aka tf2godz)]

I wonder if ‘Superman film’ here is code for “Steel”. I mean I’d watch a movie about John Henry Irons in a heartbeat. And they’re just announcing it this way because the Internet is a predictable beast.

Well they did do that

We don't talk about it.

But yeah it seems far more appropriate for this to be a steel movie not a Superman movie. He needs a second chance at a movie

 

[Thaluikhain]

At this risk of sounding problematic, I still wonder to this day why? What is the need to race swap Superman?

I'd because Superman is one of the big characters people are supposed to care about, whereas if you take an actual black character that doesn't have half a dozen awful films already, nobody will care.

Of course, a big part of Superman is that he looks like white America. If he's a black refugee that came to the US as a child without paperwork, the story runs rather differently.

 

[MrCalavera]

Hey, speaking of black superheroes: Whens that Blade movie?

 

[Gordon_4]

Well they did do that

We don't talk about it.

But yeah it seems far more appropriate for this to be a steel movie not a Superman movie. He needs a second chance at a movie

I know they made Shaq's version. I'm wondering if perhaps this cheeky move is a prelude to one that is less shit

 

[Gergar12]

They better do it right and do what Spiderman Miles Morales did which gave Miles a cool new power.

I want a better-ranged power, CQC is overrated. Lasers and frost breath were portrayed as way too static.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

I wonder if ‘Superman film’ here is code for “Steel”. I mean I’d watch a movie about John Henry Irons in a heartbeat. And they’re just announcing it this way because the Internet is a predictable beast.

Part of me hopes so but then I look at everything going on and go "Nope this really was an executive somewhere who thought 'people are too dumb to get the message of Superman being an immigrant so we better make him black to look more like what those dumbasses will think all immigrants are like.' Then actually went and is doing it with it getting this far already".

 

[Hawki]

Warner Bros. Searching for Black Director & Actor for New Superman Film

The Ta-Nehisi Coates Superman movie is looking for a Black director and Black actor to star as the lead, potentially for a period piece film.

www.escapistmagazine.com

Jokes aside, I am intrigued as to how they will approach the context. Are they going to literally do black superman, same origin story everything or will it be Superman, but with a more "in tune with the times" voice to it. If so, is the locale southern? northern? ruiral? urban? Does it even take place in America? Thats something to think about. I'm kinda glad Michael B Jordan is out. He was amazing as Kill Monger, but I'm not a fan overall. Who would you all cast? It looks like a lot of high profile writers are involved so I'm not too cynical on it just yet, though I am disappointed they're doing this instead of a sequel to Meteor Man.

Reportedly, it's set in the 20th century as a "period piece" in the US.

I don't know if it's been confirmed, but I got the sense that Supes ends up on Earth during the Civil Rights era (as in, either landing during then, or coming of age during then). So in other words, it's a Red Son-esque story, only the divergent factor being race rather than ideology.

They better do it right and do what Spiderman Miles Morales did which gave Miles a cool new power.

I want a better-ranged power, CQC is overrated. Lasers and frost breath were portrayed as way too static.

Supes is already overpowered as fuck. That he's got lasers and ice breath is actually a step down from some of the crazy shit he's pulled off over the decades.

That said, from what we know of the film's plot, I doubt action is going to be its focus. Whether that's good or bad is up to you.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

Reportedly, it's set in the 20th century as a "period piece" in the US.

I don't know if it's been confirmed, but I got the sense that Supes ends up on Earth during the Civil Rights era (as in, either landing during then, or coming of age during then). So in other words, it's a Red Son-esque story, only the divergent factor being race rather than ideology.



Supes is already overpowered as fuck. That he's got lasers and ice breath is actually a step down from some of the crazy shit he's pulled off over the decades.

That said, from what we know of the film's plot, I doubt action is going to be its focus. Whether that's good or bad is up to you.

The only way this will be of any interest to me if it's Civil War stuff is if they actually go into the lets say more covered up ugly stuff. E.G. The Union soldiers weren't the saints a lot of media make them out to be who were all for fighting side by side with their fellow man.

 

[Hawki]

The only way this will be of any interest to me if it's Civil War stuff is if they actually go into the lets say more covered up ugly stuff. E.G. The Union soldiers weren't the saints a lot of media make them out to be who were all for fighting side by side with their fellow man.

It's already stated to take place in the 20th century, why would the Civil War factor in?

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

It's already stated to take place in the 20th century, why would the Civil War factor in?

sorry my brain read Civil rights as Civil war for some reason

 

[happyninja42]

Reportedly, it's set in the 20th century as a "period piece" in the US.

I don't know if it's been confirmed, but I got the sense that Supes ends up on Earth during the Civil Rights era (as in, either landing during then, or coming of age during then). So in other words, it's a Red Son-esque story, only the divergent factor being race rather than ideology.

*shrugs* That's fine by me. There is nothing inherently "white" about Superman. Unless a person tries to say things like "being decent, honest, empathetic, and compelled to protect those who are less fortunate than him is a white thing."

 

[Thaluikhain]

Unless a person tries to say things like "being decent, honest, empathetic, and compelled to protect those who are less fortunate than him is a white thing."

Any number of people would say (or at least think) that, though. I could be wrong, but isn't Superman supposed to be beloved by the US, which would include them?