Alongside their upcoming Batman reboot, Warner Bros. is developing a relaunch of Superman, too, with producer J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Ta-Nehisi Coates working on a bold reimagining of the Man of Steel. It’s widely believed that this movie will sidestep Clark Kent and focus on a black version of the Kryptonian hero. What’s more, Michael B. Jordan is said to be the studio’s favorite to inhabit the role.
For the first time since the rumors began, the Black Panther actor has now responded to the claims in a new interview. He neatly sidestepped getting into the issue of whether he really is in the running or not, though, and instead focused his answer on the importance of increased representation in Hollywood, particularly in regards to diversifying popular brands and characters.
“I don’t know what is really going on with [Black Superman] in particular. But everybody’s want and desire to see black leads and heroic roles is really important. Representation is important… There’s so many opportunities with different IP, different properties, different characters that never got the light of day. And there are certain ones that should just be where they are. So let’s just see how things shake out.”
Jordan raises some very smart points in his response, revealing that he feels the issue of changing a character’s race should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This echoes comments he’s made on this topic before, too. A couple of years ago, the star revealed that, while he would like to play Superman, he wouldn’t want to be Clark Kent. Instead, he suggested that he’d be interested in portraying Calvin Ellis, the Supes of Earth-23.
Sure enough, some reports have said that Ellis will be the protagonist of Abrams’ reboot, but other intel indicates that Coates is creating his own original character for the movie. Either way, it’s still difficult to say if Jordan’s actually had discussions with Warner Bros. about the project due to how carefully he chose his words here. Fans seem to love the idea of him in the cape and tights, though, so the studio would be wise to make it happen and appoint him the next Superman.