Milestone Comics put a shock into fans’ systems with an official announcement at this weekend’s DC FanDome event: Static and the rest of the Dakota City superheroes are getting their very own live-action Static Shock movie. With this announcement, Milestone characters are getting an animated series for the first time since 2000s Static Shock cartoon series, which is currently streaming on HBO Max for Static fans to return to before the new content starts to heat up.
At today’s DC FanDome event, the re-vamped project about an inner-city kid, who gains extraordinary powers and becomes an urban legend, was officially confirmed with the announcement that Michael B. Jordan is boarding the Static Shock movie as a producer. Jordan will produce via Outlier Society, his Warners-based banner, and he will be joined by producer Reginald Hudlin (Marshall, Black Panther miniseries) and Milestone co-founder Denys Cowan, for this feature project. The animated movie will be based on the Milestone hero, written by Brandon Thomas of Hardware Season One, another Milestone title, and will feature more than one Milestone character, which could explain Brandon’s involvement.
The animated project centers on Static, who first appeared in 1993’s Static #1 from Milestone Comics, a recently rebooted imprint for Black writers, artists, and stories. A decade after the original comic book series ended, the hero was revived in the Static Shock animated series, centering on Virgil Hawkins, a teenager who (like his comic counterpart) transforms into a superhero and gains electromagnetic powers.
The original series was noteworthy for being an animated show that was headlined by a Black character, and it frequently dealt with difficult issues impacting Black teenagers, like one of the more tragic episodes dealing with bullying, chronic depression, and school shootings. In contrast to the usual superhero fare, the show gave young fans a look at a complicated world in which violence actually harms people, teaching children important lessons like: &”Bullets don’t discriminate between friends and enemies, Virgil. They hurt everyone.”
Warner Bros.’ decision to reanimate the series is an exciting addition to the recently rebooted Milestone Comics lineup, which reappeared in the panels of DC Comics earlier this year in Static Season One #1 by writer Vita Ayala and layout artist ChrisCross. Outlier will be the creative center of the Static animated film and for Jordan, a comic book fan, this is the opportunity he’s been waiting for to build a more diverse and inclusive Hollywood.
“I’m proud to be a part of building a new universe centered around Black superheroes; our community deserves that,” said Jordan in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Outlier Society is committed to bringing to life diverse comic book content across all platforms and we are excited to partner with Reggie and Warner Bros. on this initial step.”
Michael B. Jordan is best known for starring alongside the late Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther. He last starred and produced the legal drama Just Mercy. The multi-hyphenate performs the same duties on Without Remorse, a thriller due out from Amazon next year. The Static Shock movie as officially confirmed at DC FanDome.
Source: movieweb.com