Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates has received widespread critical acclaim for his work on comic books like Black Panther and Captain America, and he's now been tapped to pen Warner Bros.' Superman reboot. Featuring a Black Man of Steel, it's a movie that promises to put a fresh spin on the iconic hero's story.
Kal-El will be the lead, while the expectation is that it's going to be a 20th century period piece.
Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II), J.D. Dillard (Sweetheart), Regina King (One Night in Miami), and Shaka King (Judas and the Black Messiah) are among those being considered to direct, but what can Coates reveal about his vision for Superman? Well, it seems he doesn't really want to share too much, but not for the usual reasons. Instead, he's concerned about giving fans any pre-conceived notions.
"Nothing I can say would be helpful here. Absolutely nothing. Nothing I can say will do anything to improve how this film is ultimately received," the writer told Polygon. "I got a big thing: I want people to have their own experience with the art, and I don’t want to step on it. I don’t want them to hear me. I don’t want them to see me. I want them to see what we ultimately produce."
"We live in an era where people - because you have social media and can share so much - the instinct when you’re creating is to let fans in on the process, to let them see where you’re going...I do worry about doing injustice to the art. I just worry that you are, however unintentionally, seeding ideas in people’s head. I just worry that you are, however unintentionally, seeding ideas in people’s head."
"Now, look, there’s a point where you have trailers and things where I’m going to have to talk about it, but if it were up to me, I wouldn’t say anything ever until it’d been out and seen and consumed and all of that. I don’t want to get in the way. I want Superman to have his chance."
"I really want him to live. I want him to be greeted. I don’t want me and whatever baggage the narrative of me has to overshadow that," Coates continued. "As much as possible I really would like to recede and hopefully make something that folks feel is worthy."
Tackling a character like Superman is enough responsibility as it is, but crafting a story about a Black Kal-El...well, that's a lot of added pressure and comes with plenty of baggage. Unfortunately, a lot of "fans" out there will be unhappy that Warner Bros. has dared change the hero's skin colour, and we'll inevitably see so-called boycotts, complaints, and attacks on social media and YouTube nearer the movie's release.
Are you excited for Coates' take on this iconic DC Comics superhero?