Superman Reboot With A New Actor:
Superman is one of the most beloved characters of all time, be it DC or Marvel, the credibility of Superman is never in question. Arguably the strongest characters in DC, Superman has seen a lot of makeovers over the course of a few years now. The Man of Steel has received quite a few cinematic outings over the years, with Christopher Reeve playing some of the most beloved. In more recent years, Brandon Routh leads a new reboot in 2006’s Superman Returns, but it was a franchise non-starter. In 2013, Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel introduced the world to a new Superman, played by Henry Cavill. Cavill went on to appear in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League; his Superman will again be seen in Zack Snyder’s Justice League when it releases next month.
Although fans love Cavill as Superman, his continuance in the said role has been in question for a few years now. Reports of Cavill’s exit from his DCEU role as Superman first surfaced in 2018. Though they were refuted at the time, there’s been no news of when Cavill might return as the Man of Steel and no projects are in active development. As recently as May 2020, there were reports that Cavill was in talks to return as Superman, but perhaps talks broke down. Now it seems Warner Bros. is looking to reboot the franchise entirely. A new Superman movie reboot is in the works, with J.J. Abrams producing.
Author and Black Panther comics writer Ta-Nehisi Coates is penning the script, while the Superman reboot has already gone under development with Abrams behind the production, as reported by Deadline. Hannah Minghella is set to serve as a producer of the film. Coates, Abrams, and Minghella’s involvement in a new Superman movie was originally reported by Shadow and Act. They additionally report that casting has not yet begun for the role of Kal-El, implying it’s been decided Warner Bros. will have a new actor don the cape.
Henry Cavill’s Superman has a large fan base with no possible doubt. But DC has spent the last several years trying to figure out what to do with the Man of Steel on the big screen. Man of Steel 2 hasn’t gained any momentum, even with directors like Christopher McQuarrie interested in it. Instead, recent developments point to DC rebooting Superman for the big screen. DC’s Superman reboot movie will reportedly start a Black actor as the Man of Steel. Despite Cavill reportedly being in talks to return as Superman in future DC movies, it doesn’t appear that he’ll be the star of Abrams and Coates’ Superman reboot. THR reports that Warner Bros. and DC Films’ intent is to introduce a Black Superman in the movie. Michael B. Jordan met with DC in the past to discuss a possible Superman movie, but it never moved forward. That said, the studios could reevaluate around to Jordan at a later date potentially.
If the current plan doesn’t undergo any changes, the Superman reboot will make history as the first live-action DC property to portray Superman as a Black man. There’s currently no information on what route the Superman reboot will take to tell this story. Coates and DC could make Kal-El a Black man since Kryptonians are an alien race filled with people of different ethnicities. The movie could also potentially star Calvin Ellis, an alternate universe Superman from the comics who becomes President of the United States of America. There is also Val-Zod, one of the last Kryptonians from Earth-2 who becomes Superman.
With Robert Pattinson playing a new Batman and The Flash movie introducing the multiverse, Warner Bros. has already laid the groundwork for the introduction of new versions of established DCEU characters. Whether that’s how a new Superman will be introduced remains to be seen, but it seems like a possibility – even if it’s not done in The Flash movie itself. Since Michael B. Jordan already spoke to DC about Superman in the past expressed interest in playing Calvin Ellis in the future, it won’t be too surprising if the studios circle back around to him to be the star. But if Jordan is unavailable to play Superman in the future, other majors stars like Daniel Kaluuya, John Boyega, and John David Washington could find themselves in contention. Since the Superman reboot is only just starting development, it might be a while before DC casts its new Black Superman.
Considering Cavill’s Superman story is far from resolved, it would offer viewers of the franchise some closure and pave the way for a new Superman. And as for who will lead this new Superman movie reboot, that remains to be seen until casting gets underway.
For now, it’s exciting to see Abrams involved in a Superman movie and Coates on board as the writer. Would you like to see DC cast Michael B. Jordan as Superman? Let us know in the comments below!
