Whether Henry Cavill is just too busy or Warner Bros. is too unwilling, the actor’s future as Superman – worse than being put on hold – is finito according to the latest reports claiming he is retroactively killed off by Zod as an infant in The Flash.
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Out of the ashes, WB and Bad Robot producer and film franchise rehash artist J.J. Abrams were supposed to give us an Elseworld’s take on Superman revolving around a Man of Color of Steel.
It’s been a year since the project was announced and nothing new has emerged about it for good reason. We’re finding out that, internally at Warners, the film is simply not getting off the ground.
Geekosity Editor-In-Chief Mikey Sutton claims this is due in large part to writer Ta-Nehisi Coates falling behind. Supposed to have a draft ready by now, it’s said Coates hasn’t delivered on his promises.
Sutton adds that the studio is trying to inject too much social commentary to the detriment of the idea. They want the film to be Oscar-worthy but in their push for perceived prestige, it’s becoming less and less like a Superman movie at this stage.
Then there is the problem of gearing it toward kids they might want to inspire with a story thought to be based on the Calvin Ellis version of Superman – a black Kryptonian who became President.
Rah-rah as that sounds on paper, the fear is it will go over the heads of the young ones and repel them, Sutton says. “I’m an adult and I don’t want to see it,” the tipster quipped in his ScoopCenter talk.
The other complication is that WB is, unsurprisingly, ahead of itself with its ambitions again. Sutton adds they are trying to market their BIPOC Superman before they have a story, which isn’t working out.
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On the drawing board, there are ideas scribbled but no thorough or coherent plot to speak of; and Sutton reveals, furthermore, his intel insinuates this drastic reinvention of the mythic Man of Steel has a projected budget of $300 million.
Sutton calls the project “cold turkey” and states that it might not be dead but is surely “in quicksand.” He thus concludes it will be one of the items on the chopping block when Discovery and David Zaslav take over, and probably won’t see the light of day.
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If it is made, the budget would likely be reduced. ScoopCenter MC Syl Abdul estimates it’ll be slashed by two-thirds and ultimately canceled when Discovery takes into account budgetary issues alongside the lack of a narrative.
Sutton is going to corroborate with other sources to be sure but the above is what he knows so far about the Abrams-Coates Superman.
A related project, the Val-Zod adaptation produced by and starring Michael B. Jordan, is going ahead at HBO Max and seemingly has better luck with fanfare on its side.
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