Tag: Ta-Nehisi Coates

Posted on in Film News

Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Reboot & WB’s Next ‘Superman’ Movie Courting The Same Directors

Disney and Warner Bros. are reportedly courting the same black filmmakers for their upcoming superhero projects as mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter. As both Blade and the next Superman film produced by J.J. Abrams are expected to be shot by experienced black directors. An exciting era of inclusion given the budgets expected for the two comic book movies.

Apparently, screenwriter Ta-Nehisi Coates’ black Superman project is expected to have a non-contemporary setting, which sounds similar to the studio’s original plans for Supergirl (1980s). However, it’s unclear when in the 1900s they’ll be aiming for. Instead, Supergirl will appear in The Flash movie (filming in the United Kingdom) played by actress Sasha Calle ushering her directly into the DCEU but the Superman movie doesn’t seem to be joining that corner of the cinematic universe.

The Superman film appears to be moving onto its own track and won’t be part of the universe, as of now. Sources tell THR that Coates is crafting a Kal-El in the vein of the original Superman comics and will have the protagonist hail from Krypton and come to Earth. While the story is currently being crafted and many details could change, one option under consideration is for the film to be a 20th century period piece.

THR is claiming that there is a group candidates that have been looked for both movies.

The names mentioned in the report are Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II), J.D. Dillard (Sleight, Sweetheart), Regina King (One Night In Miami, and Shaka King (Judas & The Black Messiah). It’s certainly an excellent group of contenders but it’s unclear if these names are simply suggestions by the outlet or actually in the running.

The former list can include Creed II’s Steven Caple Jr., J.D. Dillard, Regina King — who got raves for her drama One Night in Miami — and Shaka King, who is popular at Warners thanks to best picture Oscar nominee Judas and the Black Messiah. Some potential directors have met with both studios for both films, even as one agent said the process was “phenomenally early.” 

You might remember that Steven is currently busy with Paramount’s latest Transformers movie about to shoot over in Montreal and Dillard had been previously tasked to co-write a Star Wars project for Lucasfilm.

They also mentioned that Blade’s shoot was bumped from September 2021 to July 2022, giving folks over a full year to complete any outstanding projects before jumping to the MCU. Coates is said not to be delivering his script until mid-December suggesting both projects won’t be shooting until 2022.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot To Produce ‘Superman’ Reboot With ‘Black Panther’s Ta-Nehisi Coates Penning The Script

Deadline has breaking news that Warner Bros. is looking to reboot their iconic Superman franchise with a script from writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and producer J.J. Abrams via Bad Robot. Coates is best-known for his work on the fantastic modern run of Black Panther comics for Marvel.

Deadline has confirmed that author Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing a Superman reboot feature for Warner Bros and DC, which J.J. Abrams is producing under his Bad Robot label.

Funny, it’s being called a “reboot” and Deadline mentions Henry Cavill, but if it’s a hard-reboot that would likely mean he’s not going to be in it. The addition of Coates would give the impression they might be going with a different take on the DC hero.

They point out that Coates is working with Ryan Coolger and Michael B. Jordan on the film Wrong Answer, the connection to Jordan is certainly interesting given rumblings he wanted to play a new version of Superman.

Could that Michael B. Jordan/Superman casting rumor come true?

Variety mentioned in a report last year that Jordan pitched a Superman project.

To help find a way to make Superman relevant to modern audiences, studio brass has been polling lots of high-profile talent. There have been discussions with J.J. Abrams, whose company Bad Robot recently signed a massive first-look deal with the studio, and there was a meeting with Michael B. Jordan earlier this year with the “Creed” star pitching Warners on a vision for the character. However, Jordan isn’t ready to commit to taking on the project since filming doesn’t seem likely to happen for several years and he has a full dance card of projects. Insiders think that a new Superman film is unlikely to hit screens before 2023, given that there’s no script and no director attached.

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter has chimed-in and Warner Bros. are reportedly indeed looking to introduce a black Superman in the reboot. They certainly have options with Steel’s John Henry Irons, Val-Zod, and Calvin Ellis established in the comic books. Given Coates is writing the reboot and his history with Black Panther it’s hard to imagine this won’t have a black Superman.

According to sources, the project is being set up as a Black Superman story. This is something that the studio has been trying to wrap its head around for months, if not a year or two. Michael B. Jordan tried to develop a Black Superman project when he first arrived at the studio with his deal in 2019, but that did not go very far at the time, according to sources. It is possible that the studio could return to him to star down the line.

It’s worth mentioning Michael B. Jordan is producing a film for the studio based on the DC Comics hero Static Shock.

This news comes after Warner Bros. has been developing a new solo Supergirl film from The Cloverfield Paradox (produced by Abrams) screenwriter Oren Uziel and the studio recently hiring Sasha Calle in the role, making her big screen debut in The Flash.

It’ll be interesting to see if Henry Cavill ultimately comes back to the Superman role as the chances of that seem to be getting smaller with Supergirl entering the picture and this reboot from Bad Robot now in development.

SOURCE: DEADLINE