UPDATE: The site just Tweeted out that, "Sources have since reached out to clarify that [Michael B. Jordan's] Black Superman project about Val-Zod is, in fact, being written as a limited series for HBO Max." The original story follows:
Collider is reporting that Michael B. Jordan is producing his own Superman project for HBO Max through his Outlier Society production company. Whereas Ta-Nehisi Coates and J.J. Abrams' movie is expected to feature a Black Kal-El in a period setting, this one - likely a lower budgeted project like Batgirl - will put the spotlight on Val-Zod.
An unknown writer is currently hard at work on the screenplay, but Jordan is producing and could even take on the lead role (which would finally mean he suits up as Superman).
The actor previously laughed off claims he'll play Kal-El in the Abrams-produced feature, saying "I’m flattered that people have me in that conversation. It’s definitely a compliment, but I’m just watching on this one." Many fans were surprised by how dismissive he was at the time, though some context might be found in a recent piece from Black Girl Nerds' Jamie Broadnax.
Her sources revealed 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."
Her belief is that it's 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."
It's hard to argue with that.
As for Val-Zod, his story is both different and similar to Clark Kent's, though his arrival on Earth saw him found by a man named Terry Sloan who offered him asylum in an effort to "protect" him from the outside world. Eventually, he'd learn to master his powers and became Earth-2's Superman.
There's no word on a release date yet, but we're definitely excited to see this become a reality.