Earlier in 2021, there was speculation that Without Remorse star Michael B. Jordan would be playing Superman in J.J. Abrams’ upcoming film, penned by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
“It’s smart of DC to grab Ta-Nehisi to go ahead and adapt that project,” Jordan told The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s incredibly talented. It’s going to be worth checking out. I’m flattered that people have me in that conversation. It’s definitely a compliment, but I’m just watching on this one.”
Instead, it would now appear that Jordan is busy working on his own project centred on the caped hero and is developing a Black Superman project for HBO Max with his production company.
Collider reports that Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society, has hired an unnamed screenwriter who is currently developing the script for the limited series, but it remains unknown if Jordan will be the one to play the beloved superhero. However, I think we can all agree that it would make exactly zero sense for him not to step into the lead role.
While Abrams’ film with his Bad Robot banner features a Black actor playing the Kal-El/Clark Kent version of the character, Jordan’s limited series is said to focus on the Val-Zod storyline.
While Kal-El originates from Earth 1, Val-Zod is the Superman from Earth 2, where he is one of the last Kryptonians, and the second to assume the mantle of Superman after his parents are executed by Krypton’s high court and he is found on by Terry Sloan, who vows to protect him.
“It’s important for people to see themselves in roles that they normally wouldn’t see,” Jordan told The Hollywood Reporter. “What that does to the next generation, to a kid or somebody that didn’t think that is something that they could achieve — now they’re thinking about it and daydreaming about it.”
The addition of the Superman project to Jordan’s slate means that he is one of the busiest actors in Hollywood. The Black Panther star is also working on Muhammad Ali project for Amazon, season two of Netflix’s Raising Dion, Warner Bros.’ Denzel Washington-directed A Journal for Jordan, and his directorial debut in Creed III, in which he will also once again star.
A sequel to Amazon Prime’s Without Remorse has also already been greenlit which means we will have no shortage of Jordan on our screens, which is just the way we like it.
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