Warner Bros Is Developing A Black Superman To Replace Henry Cavill
Warner Bros Studios have announced that they will be doing a Black Superman Kalel/Calvin Ellis origin story with JJ Abrahms and Ta-Nehisi Coates which will usher in a new slate of DC movies for the future.
Watch: Next Superman Movie Will Reportedly Be Led By Black Actor, Director
Who is Calvin Ellis/Kal-El in the comics?
Calvin Ellis is to Clark Kent what Miles Morales is to Peter Parker. It is an alternative reimagination of the character with their own unique story and villains albeit with the same powers which the original character has.
Calvin Ellis which was originally written by Grant Morrison was inspired by the acts of President Barack Obama and aimed to capture some of his essences in Calvin. In the comics, the rest of his upbringing is quite similar to Clark Kent in which his Kryptonian parents send him to earth because Krypton is collapsing. He is then found by a couple on earth who raise him into Calvin Ellis.
The plot might be similar to Sony’s treatment of Spiderverse
The feeling behind Warner’s rationale for doing this change might be that Clark Kent’s Superman story is done several times already and doing a new interpretation of the character gives them a chance to develop and present the character in a different light. This is what Sony did with Miles Morales in Into the Spider-verse. They felt that the Peter Parker story had been told many times and it would be great if they tried a different approach to the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman.
The Brains Behind The Project
Ta-Nehisi Coates who has written several comics of Black Panther and Captain America is the writer for the script and screenplay for this project. Meanwhile, J.J Abrahms, whose production company Bad Robot had signed a 500 million production deal with Warner Studios is attached to produce this project. The search for a director is not yet complete but since the project is in a very early stage it might take time to find the perfect director for this grand project. Reports say that they might be looking at Shaka King, who recently directed the critically acclaimed Judas and the Black Messiah for Warners.
Does a new superman project mean the end of the Snyderverse?
No, not really. While Warner studios have said that they have no interest in continuing the stories Zack Snyder had planned for Justice League 2 and 3, they continue to make movies with actors he had originally cast. If Warner had a complete conviction that what Zack Snyder had created isn’t good, they wouldn’t have made 2 Aquaman movies, 2 Wonder Woman movies, a third announced, and a solo Flash film based on his stories.
Furthermore, while several insiders and big names continue to tell that the Snyderverse is dead, the same was said about the Snyder Cut of Justice League, and we all know who won that battle. In the end, if fans want a product it would be foolish for the Studio to not create it.
