Although Superman currently has a strong foothold in television right now thanks to The CW’s Superman & Lois, the character’s film series is in a holding pattern. Following Henry Cavill’s three outings as Kal-El/Clark Kent in the DC Extended Universe (four including the extended Zack Snyder’s Justice League), there still isn’t any indication that this version of the Kryptonian superhero will grace the big screen again. Instead, a movie starring a Black actor as Superman is in development, and Cavill has shared his thoughts on this project.
It was reported back in February that Ta-Nehisi Coates, who recently wrapped runs on Marvel Comics’ Black Panther and Captain America books, had been tapped to pen a new Superman movie that’s expected to feature a Black lead. Henry Cavill is firmly supportive of this new creative direction, telling THR:
It’s exciting — Superman’s far more than skin color. Superman is an ideal. Superman’s an extraordinary thing that lives within our hearts. Why not have multiple Supermen going on? Joaquin Phoenix did a wonderful Joker movie; so what if it’s not tied to the rest of [the franchise]? They have multiple Superman comic book storylines happening at the same time.
Henry Cavill’s Joker analogy is on point, because while Jared Leto appeared as The Joker in Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Joaquin Phoenix put his own spin on The Clown Prince of Crime in 2019’s Joker. But this is also demonstrated through Superman’s fellow Justice Leaguer Batman; along with both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton appearing as their respective Caped Crusader next year in The Flash, we’ll also meet Robert Pattinson’s version of the Gotham City vigilante months beforehand in The Batman, which isn’t connected to the DCEU. So Cavill is right, there doesn’t have to be a problem with more than one version of Superman flying around on the big screen simultaneously.
Along with Ta-Nehisi Coates tackling the script, this Black Superman movie is being produced under J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production company. No official plot details have been divulged yet, but rather than having a new character don the cape and ’S’ shield, this Superman will reportedly be a new version of Kal-El/Clark Kent, cementing that the tale will take place in a separate universe. There have also been rumblings that the movie could be a 20th century period piece.
It’s also worth noting that Ta-Nehisi Coates and J.J. Abrams’ movie isn’t the only Black Superman project in development, as it was announced this past summer that Michael B. Jordan is producing an HBO Max miniseries centered on Val-Zod, the successor Superman from the New 52 era’s Earth-2 continuity. It remains to be seen whether Jordan will bring Val-Zod to life or another actor will be hired, but Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters have been hired to write the adaptation.
As for Henry Cavill, while his future as Superman is still clouded in uncertainty, he can soon be seen reprising Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher Season 2, which drops on Netflix December 17. His upcoming movies include Argylle, Enola Holmes 2 and the Highlander reboot. Continue checking in with CinemaBlend for updates on the Black Superman movie and other upcoming DC Comics movies.
