Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav saved us all from the woke Black Superman movie that was in development from J.J. Abrams and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates.
In the Wall Street Journal‘s report on the Superman budget and box office goals and potential spinoffs, the article goes over how DC lacked a single creative leader, unlike Marvel, which has Kevin Feige running the show. So when James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC, various projects were canceled, including Wonder Woman 3.
Zaslav Kills Woke Black Superman Script from Ta-Nehisi Coates
Among the tidbits is mention of the Black Superman movie that was in development under Abrams and woke writer Ta-Nehisi Coates. The WSJ says Zaslav put a stop to the Black Superman movie because he felt it was too woke:
Around the same time in 2022, Zaslav was exploring how to fix DC. He dismissed as too woke a script being written by Ta-Nehisi Coates about a Black Superman in the civil rights era, according to people familiar with the matter. Gunn and Safran could still try to make the movie in the future, some of the people added.
It’s also worth noting that James Gunn’s Superman isn’t woke, although it does explore political themes. Zaslav made it a priority to get Superman right to launch the new DCU, and it’s clear he didn’t want the character weighed down by the kind of wokeness that has destroyed Kevin Feige’s MCU.
What was the Black Superman movie?
The Black Superman movie was a project in development at Warner Bros. before the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, led by J.J. Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates. It was intended to feature a Black version of Superman, separate from the mainline Clark Kent character.
Details include:
J.J. Abrams was attached as producer through his Bad Robot banner, part of his overall deal with Warner Bros.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, a writer known for political and race-related works, was hired to write the script. Reports said Coates’ take was set during the civil rights era and would heavily feature racial themes.
The movie was rumored to introduce a Black version of Kal-El, still named Clark Kent, rather than using established Black Superman characters like Val-Zod or Calvin Ellis from the comics.
Actors rumored or suggested for the role included Michael B. Jordan, though Jordan was reportedly developing his own separate Black Superman project (focused on Val-Zod) for HBO Max. That project was unrelated to Coates’ script.
Jordan rejected the idea of a race-swapped Clark Kent Superman.
Cyborg actor Ray Fisher rejected the Black Superman.
The idea was controversial with fans, who criticized it as race-swapping the iconic Christopher Reeve Superman rather than developing existing Black heroes. Many felt it was a lazy attempt at diversity instead of creating original stories or spotlighting established Black DC characters.
