DC Television Michael B. Jordan Developing Val Zod Limited Series For HBO Max

[Detective Conan]

Exclusive: Michael B. Jordan Developing His Own Black Superman Project for HBO Max

Michael B. Jordan and his production company Outlier Society are developing their own Black Superman project for HBO Max that centers on the Val-Zod incarnation of the character, Collider has exclusively learned.


Sources say that Outlier Society has hired a writer who is currently working on the script, though we were unable to ascertain their identity. Though it was initially unclear whether the Val-Zod project would be a movie or a limited series, sources have since reached out to clarify that as of right now, it is, in fact, being written as a limited series that Jordan will produce and possibly even star in, though he has yet to officially commit on the latter front.

As previously reported, J.J. Abrams and his company Bad Robot are set to produce a Black Superman movie for Warner Bros. that is expected to follow the Kal-El/Clark Kent version of the character. Though Clark Kent is traditionally depicted as white in the DC comics, the character will be played by a Black actor in the Bad Robot movie, which will likely be directed by a Black filmmaker, as Abrams is simply expected to produce. Author and cultural critic Ta-Nehisi Coates is already hard at work on the script for that project.



While Jordan did work with Warner Bros. on developing a Black Superman movie at one point, he recently shot down rumors that he would star in Abrams' new film, saying "I’m flattered that people have me in that conversation. It’s definitely a compliment, but I’m just watching on this one.”

The question is, why?

A recent editorial penned by Jamie Broadnax for Black Girl Nerds provides some context and prompted Collider to do some digging, as Broadnax's sources told her that "Jordan has not wanted to engage in conversations about racebending Kal-El for the same reasons many of the fans are pushing back on the current Warner Bros. re-imagined version of Clark Kent, but that he would be interested in engaging on a Black Superman project centering on the Val-Zod storyline."

The distinction is an important one, particularly within the Black community, as Broadnax explained how it would be tone-deaf of Warner Bros. and DC to 'racebend a white character and erase Black characters that already exist in the DC universe under the Superman banner — Calvin Ellis and Val-Zod.'

She has a valid point. If there are two perfectly good Black Supermen, why would Abrams' big-budget Black Superman movie follow the white version of the character? Is it simply because Clark Kent is better known within the realm of pop culture? We may never know the answer, but what is clear is that Jordan wasn't into that idea, and now he's developing his own Superman project, albeit for WB's sister streamer, HBO Max.


Val-Zod is the Superman from Earth 2, where he is one of the last Kryptonians, and the second to assume the mantle of Superman. The character was orphaned after his parents were executed by Krypton's high court, though he was found on Earth 2 by Terry Sloan, who offered the young alien asylum to "protect" him from the outside world. Ellis, on the other hand, is the Superman of Earth 23, where he is the President of the United States.

Outlier Society's feature credits include Without Remorse, Just Mercy, the HBO movie Fahrenheit 451, and Denzel Washington's upcoming drama A Journal for Jordan, which finds MBJ playing a military man who, in the event that he is killed in action, writes a journal for his son teaching him how to live a decent life despite growing up without a father. Sony will release the film on Dec. 22 and it is expected to be an awards contender this year.

Jordan is currently prepping his directorial debut, Creed III, while also developing a Static Shockmovie for Warner Bros. and a remake of The Thomas Crown Affair for MGM and the Russo brothers' AGBO banner. Jordan is represented by WME, M88 and Ziffren Brittenham, and representatives for both the actor-producer and HBO Max did not respond to requests for comment.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

Sweet!

 

[Primal Slayer]

I loved Val Zod. If this gets made then they should definitely include Powergirl and Helena Wayne.

 

[Calvin Ellis]

I loved Val Zod. If this gets made then they should definitely include Powergirl and Helena Wayne.

Dick Grayson too as the new Batman.

 

[Superchan]

While I don't know much about Val Zod, I am all for this, instead of race changing characters just bring already existing ones and give them their time in the sun. I never understood why they race change characters like Jimmy (in Supergirl and the new Superman animated series) instead of bringing in a character like Ron Troupe whose never been given the time of day. Needless to say I am still hoping that JJ's Superman is Calvin Ellis and not a tokenized Clark Kent.

 

[Primal Slayer]

While I don't know much about Val Zod, I am all for this, instead of race changing characters just bring already existing ones and give them their time in the sun. I never understood why they race change characters like Jimmy (in Supergirl and the new Superman animated series) instead of bringing in a character like Ron Troupe whose never been given the time of day. Needless to say I am still hoping that JJ's Superman is Calvin Ellis and not a tokenized Clark Kent.

Ron is a reporter just like Lois. Downgrading him to young photographer who is teamed with Lois wouldnt make sense. And The Daily Planet has 1 black reporter? wow, still with a whole team of white people. You can both of them and still have Jimmy be black. What they did in Supergirl though was give Jimmy a whole new personality and nothing resembling the character which is a waste.

Bruce has 3 white Robins and Damien who is mostly portrayed to be White...if you racebend one of them, it isnt a bad thing.

 

[danlav05]

I hope this happens!

 

[Calvin Ellis]

While I don't know much about Val Zod, I am all for this, instead of race changing characters just bring already existing ones and give them their time in the sun. I never understood why they race change characters like Jimmy (in Supergirl and the new Superman animated series) instead of bringing in a character like Ron Troupe whose never been given the time of day. Needless to say I am still hoping that JJ's Superman is Calvin Ellis and not a tokenized Clark Kent.

Val-Zod is pretty much the outcome of the Knightmare storyline. In Earth-2 Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman were able to stop Darkseid attack but Lois died during the battle as well as Batman and Wonder Woman. Later on Darkseid attacks again this time with an evil clone of Superman and captures the Earth and Powergirl, Val-Zod (who thinks of himself as an El since he was raised as an older brother to Kal-El after his parents died on Krypton and was sent off the same time as Kal to Earth.) and the rest of the Earth-2 heroes rise up to stop him and save Earth. Although Val always prefers nonvoloenice.

 

[Superchan]

Ron is a reporter just like Lois. Downgrading him to young photographer who is teamed with Lois wouldnt make sense. And The Daily Planet has 1 black reporter? wow, still with a whole team of white people. You can both of them and still have Jimmy be black. What they did in Supergirl though was give Jimmy a whole new personality and nothing resembling the character which is a waste.

Bruce has 3 white Robins and Damien who is mostly portrayed to be White...if you racebend one of them, it isnt a bad thing.

Yeah you missed the whole point of my message, don't race bend characters, instead bring already existing ones who were never given the light of day e.g. Ron Troupe or Franklin Stern. And if there are no minority characters and people feel the need to fill a "quota" then create new characters, heck that's why Timm and Co. created Angela Chen, instead of just brining in Cat Grant.
Also, I never said Ron should be a photographer because nowadays all Lois needs is to take our her cellphone and take a photo, not to mention that being a photographer isn't necessarily a downgrade, Ron could be a photojournalist (they do exist) or he could be a veteran journalist like Robbie Robertson from Spider-man who grew up in Suicide Slump and shows Clark/superman that fighting robots and aliens is all good and well but there are other problems like drugs, poor housing, lack of jobs, crime, suicide etc....that Superman can't simply punch.

I don't care if Batman has 10 Robins and I wouldn't care if they're all pasty white, if a writer feels that the Batman family needs more color then give Luke and Lucious Fox more to do or -going back to my original point - create a brand new fourth Robin who is black, Asian etc.....
Expand these characters' universes by adding new ones, good ones with a purpose and not just a token minority / race bent character to satisfy cancel culture.

 

[Superchan]

Val-Zod is pretty much the outcome of the Knightmare storyline. In Earth-2 Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman were able to stop Darkseid attack but Lois died during the battle as well as Batman and Wonder Woman. Later on Darkseid attacks again this time with an evil clone of Superman and captures the Earth and Powergirl, Val-Zod (who thinks of himself as an El since he was raised as an older brother to Kal-El after his parents died on Krypton and was sent off the same time as Kal to Earth.) and the rest of the Earth-2 heroes rise up to stop him and save Earth. Although Val always prefers nonvoloenice.

Hmmmmmm....sounds good, do you recommend any particular issues with Val Zod in 'em?

 

[Primal Slayer]

Yeah you missed the whole point of my message, don't race bend characters, instead bring already existing ones who were never given the light of day e.g. Ron Troupe or Franklin Stern. And if there are no minority characters and people feel the need to fill a "quota" then create new characters, heck that's why Timm and Co. created Angela Chen, instead of just brining in Cat Grant.
Also, I never said Ron should be a photographer because nowadays all Lois needs is to take our her cellphone and take a photo, not to mention that being a photographer isn't necessarily a downgrade, Ron could be a photojournalist (they do exist) or he could be a veteran journalist like Robbie Robertson from Spider-man who grew up in Suicide Slump and shows Clark/superman that fighting robots and aliens is all good and well but there are other problems like drugs, poor housing, lack of jobs, crime, suicide etc....that Superman can't simply punch.

I don't care if Batman has 10 Robins and I wouldn't care if they're all pasty white, if a writer feels that the Batman family needs more color then give Luke and Lucious Fox more to do or -going back to my original point - create a brand new fourth Robin who is black, Asian etc.....
Expand these characters' universes by adding new ones, good ones with a purpose and not just a token minority / race bent character to satisfy cancel culture.

Racebending isn't an issue when 90% of your characters are white. Would you rather they not have Jimmy, Tim, any character ever show up just so they can create a brand new character?

"We won't racebend Dick so we'll just ignore him all together"

It's like saying "we shouldnt have Supergirl or Batgirl, just make a brand new superhero who isnt a female version of the male superhero" Doesnt work that way, not how IPs operate.

Marvel should've just ignored Nick Fury.

 

[Calvin Ellis]

Hmmmmmm....sounds good, do you recommend any particular issues with Val Zod in 'em?

Whole New 52 Earth-2 series is great because you see where it leads up to. He & Earth-2 Batman really should've gotten a solo comic. As well as Earth-2 GL. Won't spoil it for you but it is truly a great but tragic series. Especially if you're a Superman fan.

 

[Superchan]

Racebending isn't an issue when 90% of your characters are white. Would you rather they not have Jimmy, Tim, any character ever show up just so they can create a brand new character?

"We won't racebend Dick so we'll just ignore him all together"

Marvel should've just ignored Nick Fury.

Ok, can you please read my posts a little more carefully, I said "don't race bend characters, instead create new ones" but I did not say "don't race bend characters, instead create new ones AND ignore the existing white ones" so please stop putting words in my mouth.
Have Jimmy, Dick Grayson (my 2nd favorite comicbook character), Tim etc.....but if you want to bring in a minority character, then bring in an existing minority character e.g. Ron Troupe or create a new one e.g. Angela Chen, Luke Fox. Simple.

It's like saying "we shouldnt have Supergirl or Batgirl, just make a brand new superhero who isnt a female version of the male superhero" Doesnt work that way, not how IPs operate

.

We're talking about racebending, not derivative characters, which is another topic all together. I personally have no problems with derivative characters, heck Babs Gordon is my favorite female comicbook character and she is the perfect example of a derivative, yet distinct character. The same goes for Cassandra Cane, Matrix Supergirl and new 52 supergirl.

 

[Boy Scout]

Weird - but not in a bad way - that we’re getting two black Superman projects in active development at the same time. I would’ve preferred a series about Calvin but I can understand why they’d want to avoid President Superman. I hope MBJ will star.

 

[danlav05]

Weird - but not in a bad way - that we’re getting two black Superman projects in active development at the same time. I would’ve preferred a series about Calvin but I can understand why they’d want to avoid President Superman. I hope MBJ will star.

Now we know Val-Zod is coming I now want Calvin Ellis as well lmao. Maybe some day?

Btu I'm excited, this is a big new phase for Superman on screen

 

[Filmfreak]

I doubt we'll see both Val-Zod and black Clark Kent projects, but we'll see.

 

[Pennywise]

Heat Vision

Collider broke the story that WarnerMedia’s HBO Max and DC are developing a SECOND Black Superman project. This one has Michael B. Jordan producing, possibly starring in, a limited series for the streaming service based on the Val-Zod incarnation of the character.

Jordan tried to develop a Black Superman feature when he and his production company Outlier Society had a first-look deal at Warner Bros. Depending on who you talk to, it fell apart because Jordan wanted too much control over the project or Warner Bros. was shifting away from actors having control as producers, which sounds like different sides of the same coin to us.

Jordan eventually left the Warners tent and the studio later handed the reins to J.J. Abrams, who brought in Ta-Nehisi Coates to work on a take and story.

But here’s what happened next, according to sources: The HBO Max side of the business then approached Jordan and asked him if he’d like to try his project for them. It was either synergy or, at the time, a surprise, depending on who you talk to. No overlap is seen, however, as Jordan’s is considered to be early development and on a different time track.

HBO Max had no comment.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Ok, can you please read my posts a little more carefully, I said "don't race bend characters, instead create new ones" but I did not say "don't race bend characters, instead create new ones AND ignore the existing white ones" so please stop putting words in my mouth.
Have Jimmy, Dick Grayson (my 2nd favorite comicbook character), Tim etc.....but if you want to bring in a minority character, then bring in an existing minority character e.g. Ron Troupe or create a new one e.g. Angela Chen, Luke Fox. Simple.

.

We're talking about racebending, not derivative characters, which is another topic all together. I personally have no problems with derivative characters, heck Babs Gordon is my favorite female comicbook character and she is the perfect example of a derivative, yet distinct character. The same goes for Cassandra Cane, Matrix Supergirl and new 52 supergirl.

Im not putting words in your mouth, im asking if they said "we wont racebend X,y,z, instead we will create a new character and not use the existing character " would you rather that.

Tim Burton wanted to introduce a black Dick Grayson, so would you rather they ignore him all together?

 

[Superchan]

Im not putting words in your mouth, im asking if they said "we wont racebend X,y,z, instead we will create a new character and not use the existing character " would you rather that.

Tim Burton wanted to introduce a black Dick Grayson, so would you rather they ignore him all together?

If they said to me "it's either a racebent Grayson or no Grayson at all" then my answer would be NO Grayson at all, any day and everyday. I hate that woke s**t, if they want to be "inclusive" then be inclusive by bringing in already existing minority characters or go create one and give them ample time to develop a semblance of a character that audience might give a damn about.
If someone wants to tell a nightwing story and include a minority character in it then no problem, you can have Bridget Clancy who is Irish of Chinese descend or Bea who is an African American bartender/ limited time girlfried of Grayson's. Bring such characters in and make them co-stars and give them tons of development.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Ok then…

 

[Primal Slayer]

If they said to me "it's either a racebent Grayson or no Grayson at all" then my answer would be NO Grayson at all, any day and everyday. I hate that woke s**t, if they want to be "inclusive" then be inclusive by bringing in already existing minority characters or go create one and give them ample time to develop a semblance of a character that audience might give a damn about.
If someone wants to tell a nightwing story and include a minority character in it then no problem, you can have Bridget Clancy who is Irish of Chinese descend or Bea who is an African American bartender/ limited time girlfried of Grayson's. Bring such characters in and make them co-stars and give them tons of development.

.....ok.

Well I guess I am glad that this "woke shirt" has been around since the days of the OG batman series.

 

[DarkKnight]

YES!!!! I love Michael B Jordan and Val Zod is a great character and great Superman for him to play. I admittingly can say while I do know a bit about Val and his mythos, I'm not as up to date as say Kal-El because I've had 30 plus years of knowing and loving Kal. But I have read some Val Superman comics and really enjoyed them.

Also, as someone that is on record here on the hype of expressing my dislike of race changing simply to do so to A-list characters with Generations of established character descriptions remaining the same. I love this and this is how I would fully support and fully embrace this type of change to Superman.

 

[mace1]

Most characters in dc or other comicbook companies have been not 90% white in awhile now,so that outdated,plus some characters are alien looking or robots etc..

There have been have lot poc characters created overtime plus there lionforge for example, a new comicbook company where most of the characters are poc.

White characters just like poc characters are shown a handful at time anyway and most white characters are not shown at the same time because there are too many of them just like there are too many poc characters these days.

In fact i read awhile ago that black characters in dc and marvel are overrepresented in mainstream u.s. comics like dc and marvel for example these.

Remember their are youtube channels where you see comments saying their is too much diversity in the big two comics and even other u.s. comics like image,idw etc..
You know the types,go woke go broke non-sense types.

DC and Marvel comics are highly diverse.
So a lot of poc superheroes are in comics in the u.s. and worldwide like asia, latin america,africa,europe etc..It's growing.
There are other superhero comics/companies that are from the americas,asia, latin america,africa, etc..etc.. as well.

Now when it comes to Damian Wayne,i have not read much seen much art of him but most of the art i seen of so far him show him as intermediate race type(brown) and once in awhile some times white.

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Primal Slayer]

Hopefully they adapt the E2 comic.