Michael B Jordan developing Val-Zod Superman limited series for HBO Max

Bit of a turnaround on this one… but oddly, one we all knew was probably coming.

You may recall some time ago, when the world was still a normal (ish) place, a lot of rumours bounced around that Henry Cavill would not be returning as Superman in the DCEU (here), when we learned this, the name attached was Black Panther and Creed star Michael B Jordan.

Then we learned that DC/Warners were developing a new Superman movie from Ta-Nehisi Coates and JJ Abrams with a black actor in the lead (which may actually still be Clark Kent’s story, despite there actually being black versions of Superman in the DC universe begging to be adapted into a movie) and, again, the actor everyone seemed to be attached to it was… Michael B Jordan, who denied involvement, saying he’d be happy to watch the movie come together like the rest of the fans (here).

And now it seems a second Superman project is being developed at Warners/DC, this time for the HBO Max streaming service which will be produced by and may star… Michael B Jordan!

I mean, come on… I’m willing to put money on it that he was involved since at least 2018.

It seems Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society, have hired a writer to develop a limited series for the streaming service and, unlike the Coates movie, this will feature Val-Zod, the comic universe’s black Superman.

It seems that Jordan, correctly, believes that hiring a black actor to play Clark Kent in the in-development movie would simply take away from Val-Zod, the DC universe’s actual black version of Superman. His frustration with it led Jordan – who we know is a fan of Superman (here) and the lore – to develop his own version of Val-Zod.

It’s still unclear if Jordan will step into the suit himself or is happy to stay behind the scenes but my money would be on him taking the lead role himself.

And honestly, we feel the way Jordan feels here.

We love Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, as do many of the fans, and we want him back… we don’t want a new take of that story, no matter what colour or ethnicity the lead is, because we have a great, established Superman already out there… however, we love the idea of Val-Zod stepping into the live-action arena, on the small of big screen, giving the world and fans the two main versions of Superman.

After all, with The Flash set to explore the multiverse, there’s plenty of room for two Superman to co-exist. Look, imagine making Peter Parker a black character rather than giving the world Miles Morales… it’s insane.

But hey, what do we know.

I hope Jordan gets his Val-Zod project up and running and I cannot wait to see it. I also hope we get Henry Cavill back as Superman.

Let me hear your thoughts, guys.

Source: Collider