Report: Black Panther’s Michael B. Jordan Could be Next Superman
After a report that Henry Cavill will no longer be playing the role of Superman in the DC Extended Universe, a new report from Deadline indicates that Warner Bros. is looking at Michael B. Jordan to take on the Man of Steel in the future.
The report indicates that “Warner Bros. has been mulling a completely different direction with its Superman canon for some time, even considering casting Michael B. Jordan in the role down the road.”
A completely different direction and the idea that they might cast Michael B. Jordan in the role indicates they might not actually be adapting Kal-El or Clark Kent, but could instead be looking at Val-Zod, who is the Superman of Earth-2.
Interestingly enough, Val-Zod’s origin sees him fighting a brain-washed Superman who leads an army of Parademons. His origin is also unique because he’s afraid of his own powers and doesn’t quite have a handle on them because he had spent most of his life on a capsule.
Val-Zod explains that he wears the symbol of El to honor Lara and Jor-El because they saved him after his parents “tried to speak truth to power and were punished for it.” In the Earth-2 universe, he was rocketed off Krypton along with Kal-El, his cousin, and an another.
Val-Zod would eventually defeat Superman who crumbled into dust during the fight.
It’s quite possible if DC Films does move in the direction of casting Jordan in the role of Superman it could be in an out continuity film. This wouldn’t be an unheard of move for DC Films. They are already moving forward with an out of continuity Joker origin film starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Moving forward with a Val-Zod movie could also open up its own potential for an Earth-2 cinematic universe that could eventually cross over into the DC Extended Universe. However, I don’t think DC Films and Warner Bros. will want to count their chickens before they hatch which they seemingly did with Justice League.
One of the benefits of adapting Val-Zod to film is it opens up an almost blank slate for Warner Bros. to draw on. They also won’t have to feel the need to live up to a standard for Superman as Val-Zod has never appeared in a major motion picture unlike Superman’s storied history on film which counts numerous live-action adaptations as well as animated films and television series.
While Val-Zod would allow Warner Bros. to paint on a pretty clean slate, he also isn’t the main Superman or Clark Kent. It’s quite possible Jordan could become Clark Kent as he was instrumental in pushing Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment’s new commitment to diversity and inclusion. In fact, Michael B. Jordan’s upcoming film Just Mercy which will be directed by Warner Bros.’ Destin Daniel Cretton will be the first film to adhere to DC’s new policy on diversity and inclusion.
What do you think? Would you like to see DC Films adapt Val-Zod to live-action? Would Michael B. Jordan be a good actor to take on the role?
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