I’m a white guy in his forties who grew up with Christopher Reeve as Superman. That film meant a lot to me as a kid, and I can trace my love of the character back to it. I want a generation of kids to have a Superman who looks like them, whether it’s Clark Kent, Calvin Ellis, or Val-Zod (although personally I say just stick with Clark Kent and explore how race would have been another factor in his life in Smallville, Kansas, and with how the world perceived Superman once he made his first appearance).
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It blow’s my mind that it takes a reboot to have a “Black” Superman, when we have ALREADY HAD A BLACK SUPERMAN, In and out of Canon and the movies. Shaq played in Steel right? Henry Irons? Why do you need to take a persons existing artistic creation and change it. Why aren’t we discussing a cinematic intro of Henry Irons as a White Guy?
Why not try a new Character, with new features and a different race? It’s Lazy or is it that DC Just doesn’t care anymore now that AT&T told Warner Bros to can the Company?
Let’s imagine the out cry if Black Lighting was gong to be rebooted as Justin Timberlake?
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I wholeheartedly agree. It’s all about the name recognition of the existing IP and how much money they can make. I would be interested to see a movie with the character, Icon. I don’t think they can get a black actor and call him Karl-El and make a billion $$$$
Say Warner Bros. asked you to pitch them a Black Superman movie.
What would be your pitch?
Would you do a Black Clark Kent named Kal-El, and raised in Smallville, Kansas?
I would hope not, because that’s not very creative. And if you did decide to do that, how would you do it different and in a creative way so that it is interesting?
Or would you do a Black Superman and name him whatever you want and do whatever you want? And have it be a period piece or a contemporary story or whatever.
And obviously within reason, because you can’t go too crazy because it’s Superman and it has to be PG-13 or whatever.
Anyway, the latter option is what Ta-Nehisi Coates is working with. And how do I know this? Because they said so…
“Ta-Nehisi Coates’s ‘Between the World and Me’ opened a window and changed the way many of us see the world,” said Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “We’re confident that his take on Superman will give fans a new and exciting way to see the Man of Steel.”
So Warner Bros. asks you to pitch them a Black Superman that’s “a new and exciting way to see the Man of Steel.”
What’s a good idea?
And whatever that idea is, go with it until we actually know what the movie is about.
Makes sense, yeah?
And share the idea if you want too.
Warner Bros. won’t steal it, or if they do you can sue them. 
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Honestly, the concept is flawed from the start. A black Kal-El/Superman will pi$$ off all of those 73,000,000 Americans that already don’t want to see black folks on their television screens. It’s a tough pill to swallow but these are the facts. They want to make a billion dollars with this movie and it’s not going to happen on account of Cov-19 and a divided country.
If I was to make this movie I would make a black alien Kal-El else worlds movie. He would go through tremendous hardships living in Kansas and being black. He would grow up to defend those that looked down on him due to his skin color. It would be a niche movie. Maybe he could fly to Israel and help the Palestinians. Or maybe he could fight President Luthor who uses racist dog whistles to incite rage and divide the electorate all while covering for the true supervillain’s, the corporations and billionaires. I’de buy a ticket to see that movie!
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Well, Hollywood doesn’t cater to that crowd anyway. Most of the movies that Hollywood makes are “liberal” movies – there are very few, quote unquote, “conservative” movies. And the “liberal” movies are the ones that make the most money.
And a lot of people in that crowd hate Hollywood, and have always hated Hollywood. They hate everything “mainstream,” or so they say. Because a lot of those same people still go to the movies even though they say that they hate Hollywood.
And by 2024 we don’t know what the situation will be as far as the movies are concerned box office-wise.
And a divided country doesn’t make any difference. The Black Panther came out while the country was just as divided. It’s not drastically worse today than it was three years ago.
And those same people didn’t want to see the Black Panther either, but it still made $1.3 billion dollars, and is the highest grossing solo super-hero movie ever.
And yeah, you don’t cater to that 73 million people, you cater to the other 81 million people. The bigger number. I mean, seriously.
Also, a lot of what you described might come to pass. 
First, it is going to be Elseworlds.
And I’m sure race, and racial issues, and racial tension, will play a role in the movie.
I mean, look who’s writing it. That’s his day job – cultural, social, and political issues. And that’s why he’s a New York Times bestselling author… multiple times over. And it’s people from that 81 million crowd that made that happen.
Anyway, and I’m sure that’s why he got the job.
But yeah, a lot of what you said I wouldn’t be shocked if it happened.
And I’m not sure that would be that niche. Because Erik Killmonger was probably considered just as cool as the T’Challa in the Black Panther. Because he brought an African-American and global perspective to the table. While T’Challa had a Wakanda perspective.
And of course that’s why I also feel that a Black Superman may resonate even more than the Black Panther movie with the African-American community.
Because this will be a super-hero that comes from the African-American experience and not from a fictional African one. We’ve never had that before with a black character as the lead, and on this level in terms of scale.
And I honestly think that this movie could be huge because of that.
We’ll of course have to wait and see what Ta-Nehisi Coates comes up with – to see what the story is. But yeah, him as the writer, and maybe Barry Jenkins as the director, New York Times bestselling author and an Academy Award winning director… this movie could be big.
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Yeah, if the African American community shows up like they did for Black Panther, it could be the biggest Superman movie ever.
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Well, topping $600 million shouldn’t be that hard. And I liked Man of Steel.
But if you can’t top that box office number, then what in the hell are you doing?
I mean, come on…
No, but to answer your original question:
What would it mean to you to see a Black Superman on the big screen?
Yeah, seeing a big budget, top-level super-hero movie, with a black lead character, told from the African-American experience. Seeing that would mean the world to me.
And they don’t have to hit us over the head with racism or whatever. Just portray it in an honest sense as it pertains to whatever the story requires.
Also, that’s why the Black Panther never really resonated with me all that much. I’ve always wanted to like him as a character, and I do appreciate him as a character, and thank Stan Lee for creating him, but he never really resonated with me all that much.
And that’s because he’s an African king from a fictional African country. That’s like, “Okay, that’s cool… but okay.”
I’m an American, I love America. I love hip-hop and Jazz, and apple pie and whatever. Wakanda is fairytale land to me. It’s cool, but it’s like desert and I want a steak.
I want that verisimilitude that an American story can give me.
And I’m very particular when it comes to super-heroes, so not just any black super-hero will do.
Because if they announced a John Stewart movie tomorrow I would be pleased that they’re doing it, and would hope that it would do well, but I honestly wouldn’t be all that excited about it.
No, it’s basically just a Black Superman or Icon for me. That’s pretty much the list. And that’s because I’m a Superman guy.
And first I of course hope that this Black Superman is a blockbuster smash hit, and then that’ll be pretty much guaranteed that we’ll get an Icon movie – or I guess if the Static movie does well, then that’ll pretty much guarantee an Icon movie…
Buy yep, I want an American story.
And no, no damn Falcon as Captain America is what I’m talking about. If it was Josiah X then we may have something, but the Falcon ain’t it for me. That’s corny to me.
A Black Superman is not a bad spin-off, but it shouldn’t be Clark Kent and should be about Val-Zod Superman of earth 2. In a movie or tv show he would be inspired by the original Superman and take up the mantle to honor him. Furthermore, a Earth 2 universe works well because Darkseid could make a good villain in this respective universe and be a substitute for that lost potential WB scrapped from the synder universe.
I would hate if they just straight up have a black Clark Kent and take inspiration from the Calvin-El version. He’s just not that interesting compared to Val-Zod.
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So I guess a few months back there were rumors:
while the project was originally intended to be a period piece, the final draft submitted by Coates recently is not a period piece
It’s not about a black superman being a victim of racism, rather it uses Superman’s alien heritage as a parallel to racism. They are, however going through with colorblind casting.
Superman is heavily nerfed, being taken back to his golden age roots. He can no longer fly, but he can instead “leap tall buildings in a single bound”, He also lacks heat vision, frost breath and x-ray vision. He’s also described as moving at Mach 7
They do have descriptions of the characters in the script which gives away their races. Lois Lane is written with an Asian Actress in mind Perry White is written as an African American man and Jimmy Olsen is described as a freckled redhead (no racebending with Jimmy)
The Film is currently utilizing The golden age version of The Ultra-Humanite as the main antagonist although this may change. At no point in the story does he use the Albino Gorilla body.
The script is rather long, clocking in at 165 pages. This may be due to the fact that the film is being written as an awards contender rather than a regular Superhero film. It portrays Superman as a champion of the opressed. The government hates him but the people love him.
The film is a love letter to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s original comics. It also has a dedication to them. Pa Kent’s character is based off of Jerry Siegel. It actually has a dedication to a lot of writers such as Jack Kirby, who serves as the inspiration for Dan Turpin.
That number #3 on the list seems to be consistent with others rumors. That being that the movie doesn’t have a lot of action it it.
Considering it’s Ta-Nehisi Coates… yeah, that squares. He’s not the one you go to if you want an action-heavy super-hero movie. 
And I would have been honestly shocked if he had written a Superman movie with a lot of action in it. He’s not that kind of writer.
And the Ultra-Humanite, from ACTIONS COMICS #13, as the possible big bad…
Sounds good to me.
And a very Ta-Nehisi Coates thing to do.
This part…
- The script is rather long, clocking in at 165 pages. This may be due to the fact that the film is being written as an awards contender rather than a regular Superhero film. It portrays Superman as a champion of the opressed. The government hates him but the people love him.
That squares too – it being written as an award contender.
I wouldn’t imagine that Warner Bros. would do a Black Superman movie unless they were doing one that could get nominated for Best Picture or something. Because otherwise why bother.
Anyway, yep, this rumor sounds good to me if this turns out to be what the movie is…
It’s got the Golden Age influences that I want. It doesn’t look as though it’s going to be a period piece though. Ah well, can’t have everything.
A powered-down Superman I like. I can imagine some wouldn’t though.
The little that I read of Grant Morrison’s powered-down Superman in their ACTION COMICS run felt too Peter Parker-ish to me so I had to pass on that – and their take on Clark Kent is what on talking about. And was he powered-down, or just costume-less – I only read a couple of issues.
Either way, I have no worries however that Ta-Nehisi Coates would do something that I like better.
A powered-down Superman though also means that you can keep the budget down too. Because this new Warner Bros. would probably balk at a $300 million dollar Black Superman movie.
They would be like, “Nah, we’re not doing that.”
Curious what kind of costume they would go with with a powered-down Superman. The classic costume may be out the window, which wouldn’t be a bad idea, in my opinion. Because that’s the traditional Superman’s costume, this Superman should wear something different.
So a powered-down Superman and a brainy bad guy… and Superman as a champion of the opressed.
This sounds really good to me. Great even. Perfect, in fact.
And…
The film is a love letter to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s original comics.
Chef kiss, I guess.
Anyway, this sounds like something Ta-Nehisi Coates would write: a think-piece Superman movie. And one that could be up for Oscars.
And like the Joker movie, perhaps a character study.
This would also be sufficiently different than any other Superman movie.
EDIT:
And I’ll add, that I would undoubtedly proclaim this as the greatest super-hero and greatest Superman movie ever made.
But of course I would say that.
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I’m up for anything Superman, but most of what you quoted there, the nerfing & no flying, the lack of action, the whole “grounding” in reality thing, is the opposite of what I want to see, to be honest. The possible use of minority actors doesn’t bother me at all, but the other stuff makes me less interested in the movie.
In any case, I’m not ruling out that I’ll enjoy it; just doesn’t sound like my cup o’ tea. Let’s wait & see what they have in store for us.
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I would be fine with it, but I’d much more prefer them just bringing Henry Cavil back.
I’m up for anything Superman, but most of what you quoted there, the nerfing & no flying, the lack of action, the whole “grounding” in reality thing, is the opposite of what I want to see, to be honest. The possible use of minority actors doesn’t bother me at all, but the other stuff makes me less interested in the movie.
In any case, I’m not ruling out that I’ll enjoy it; just doesn’t sound like my cup o’ tea. Let’s wait & see what they have in store for us.
Yeah, I can understand that.
This pitch makes me picture a little of what Mark Waid was doing in the early issues of SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT – and that being Clark being Superman and doing super-things before he dons the suit. John Byrne did a little bit of that too. And I think Frank Miller did that a little in SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE.
This feels like literally a Superman who can just leap tall buildings in a single bound, and is faster than a speeding bullet… and is maybe more powerful than a locomotive.
This is super man, and not really Superman.
They should probably call the movie The Super Man.
This also doesn’t sound like a summertime, four-quadrant popcorn flick.
No, this sounds like a “come out in late-October, early-November with a big 'For Your Consideration… ’ Oscar campaign, just in time for the award season” kind of movie.
Perfect to me, but yeah, I can totally see it not going over big.
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A few more random thoughts:
I feel a bit of a SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY vibe to this movie too.
And on the costume:
Given his power set, I truly wonder would they even bother with a costume.
Because just being as fast as mach 7, and being able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, would you really wear a costume? It would seem like kind of a weird to do.
It seems like you would just do the Mark Waid early issues of SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT thing, and just do super-stuff in your civilian clothes. Helping out whenever you see trouble.
And I guess Smallville did it for an entire TV series.
Zack Snyder of course did that too in the early parts of Man of Steel – and honestly that was cooler to me than when Henry Cavill suited up; which I thought was really kind of ho-hum. In Superman: The Movie it was cool as hell, but I was a little kid, so that may have factored into it… but it is still cool now too.
But yeah, Man of Steel could have just been an entire movie of Clark Kent helping out when needed and I probably would have enjoyed it more.
Anyway, I’m sure they’ll come up with type of costume… maybe.
On the cost of the movie:
With a “able to leap tall buildings in a single bound” Superman, and the Ultra-Humanite as the bad guy, you should be able to do this movie for $150… $175 million tops. It should not cost more than that. Because what are you spending the money on if it costs more than that?
Potential box-office:
Given what this movie is… $450 million, maybe?
$600 million if they get Regé-Jean Page…
…maybe.
And the movie sounds harmless enough, but it would probably still get hated on by the usual crowd. Such is the world.
Comic tie-in:
The Batman is getting one with RIDDLER: YEAR ONE – six-issue Black Label mini-series.
Black Adam is getting some one-shots.
This could obviously get something Black Label too, with obviously Ta-Nehisi Coates writing it.
An Ultra-Humanite one-shot or mini. A Lois Lane one maybe.
Álvaro Martínez Bueno is doing THE NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE, he would be a good artist for an Ultra-Humanite comic.
Giuseppe Camuncoli from THE OTHER HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE would be great on a book about this version of Lois Lane (issue #3 immediately comes to mind) – and maybe do it in the same style as OTHER HISTORY.
I would love to see a black character from DC not just Superman, but I’m not sure it should be president Superman. There’s an ugly part of America that hates anything that isn’t white, heterosexual, and cis male. I’m hesitant to fill confined spaces with POC and guys with guns outside.
So far Warner/Discovery has a lot to fix and not a lot of time for it. Eventually this CBM bubble is going to burst and I’d hate for that to happen to a property I’m very invested in seeing.