It looks like Michael B. Jordan’s planned Superman project at HBO Max is moving forward. After previous reports that Jordan had teamed up with WarnerMedia to develop a new live-action project based on the Val Zod incarnation of Superman, Deadline now reports that Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters have just signed on to write the script. The new recently penned the screenplay for the upcoming sequel Transformers: Rise of the Beasts for Paramount Pictures, which just wrapped filming.
The Val Zod project is simply being called Val Zod at this time, though that title could still end up changing as we’re very early into the production process. Rather than following a new version of Clark Kent and his Man of Steel, Val Zod follows Val Zod, a Black Kryptonian who seeks refuge on Earth 2 when his planet is destroyed. Plot details on the Michael B. Jordan Superman project aren’t clear, but Deadline reports that the writers have an “unexpected take on the iconic Earth 2 character’s origin story.”
Michael B. Jordan is executive producing under his Outlier Society banner in collaboration with DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. Elizabeth Raposo will also executive produce for Outlier Society with Stefano Agosto overseeing the project. The burning question of the moment is whether Jordan also intends to star as Val Zod, and that remains unclear. Many fans have called for this to happen for years, and Jordan addressed rumors earlier this year that he’d be starring in a separate Superman movie from writer Ta-Nehisi Coates.
“You hear the whispers and the rumors and stuff like that and it’s just a compliment,” Jordan said on Jake’s Takes in April. “You know, I appreciate people that think about me in that type of way for these roles. I don’t really have anything more to give on that other than it’s just flattering and I appreciate it. But, you know, whoever they get or if it goes that way, I think it’ll be an interesting thing to see.”
Details on that separate project are similarly unclear, but there have been rumors that it will follow a new incarnation of Clark Kent rather than the Val Zod Superman. Per Black Girl Nerds, there have also been rumors that Jordan wasn’t interested in playing a Black version of Clark Kent, instead preferring to focus on the Val Zod character. Maybe without DC moving forward with any new projects featuring Val Zod, Jordan eventually decided it best to develop the project personally.
Jordan continues to have a busy schedule as an actor, and that could prove to be a challenge if he were to play Val Zod. He is set to make his directorial debut with the upcoming sequel Creed III which will also feature him as the lead star. The actor can next be seen in A Journal for Jordan from director Denzel Washington. That movie is due to release on Christmas Day.
Michael B. Jordan’s Val Zod is still shrouded in mystery. Previously, it was reported that this would be a limited series rather than a single movie, but this information has yet to be officially confirmed. The project nonetheless has a lot of fans excited to see the live-action Val Zod, hopefully with Jordan in the role. This news comes to us from Deadline.
Source: movieweb.com