Thankfully, we’re at a time now when the superhero movie landscape is becoming more diversified. Marvel’s Kevin Feige has committed to making the MCU more inclusive in the future, and it seems that Warner Bros.’ DCEU is aiming for the same. Birds of Prey, for example, is an all-female team-up movie that’ll introduce Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary into the franchise among others. And this, we’re hearing, is likely just the beginning.
We Got This Covered has been informed that WB is dedicated to getting more black superheroes in the DCEU. Specifically, they’re trying to bring two characters into the franchise in particular. These are Rocket and Static, two popular teen heroes probably best known to fans for their animated TV appearances. Rocket is part of the Young Justice gang while Static had his own show, Static Shock, from 2000-2004.
The only problem with adapting these characters, we’re told, is that there are rights issues. Originally, Rocket and Static were created by Milestone Comics but they were later folded into the DC universe on the page. Apparently though, Milestone Media retains the rights to bring them to the big screen. This could explain why Static has never shown up on The CW’s Black Lightning, despite so much buzz around the idea.
A few years ago, there was a widespread rumor that Jaden Smith was going to play Static in a movie, but that never really went anywhere. As for Rocket, due to her limited name recognition, we’ve never heard anything about her making it into the DCEU before now but she could be an interesting character to introduce. Especially if Icon comes along with her, her crime-fighting partner who’s a bit like an African-American Superman.
We’ve previously reported that WB is also working on a solo movie for Vixen, which could be the first DCEU film to star a black female lead. So, even if the plans for Rocket and Static don’t work out, it looks like the studio has got other things in store when it comes to diversifying the franchise a bit.