Talks of a Superman movie with a Black lead persisted for years. Michael B. Jordan was attached to play the Val-Zod version of the character in an HBO Max TV series, while writer Ta-Nehisi Coates was thought to be working on a separate movie, produced by J.J. Abrams.
When Henry Cavill was sidelined as the Man of Steel after he refused to return for Shazam!, we heard the idea was for a 1930s-set tale featuring a Black Kal-El attempting to find his place on Earth at a time when America was embroiled in racism.
It sounded like a fascinating concept, but it wasn't one that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was a fan of. You'll recall that he scrapped Batgirl two-thirds of the way into production as a "tax write-off," earning him a reputation for being ruthless and not afraid to upset filmmakers or fans.
According to The Wall Street Journal, shortly after taking over the studio, he decided to pull the project on Coates and Abrams' Superman movie for being "too woke."
We're not sure what's "woke" about the story of Black Man of Tomorrow, but the word is frequently used (incorrectly) to tear down anything that isn't led by a white male.
There are other interesting tidbits in the article. For example, Zaslav had talks with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson about fixing the DC brand; those talks fell through when Black Adam bombed, derailing the former pro wrestler's plans to build a DC Universe around himself.
Going even further back, after Justice League crashed and burned in 2017, Warner Bros. executives met with Marvel Studios President to try and get him to work on the DC brand. Unsurprisingly, those discussions didn't lead anywhere.
"Anything I do dive in has gotta be done the right way. It has to be full of authenticity," Jordan previously said of his Superman hopes. "I’m a fan of comic books, you know? I understand the fans being upset at, 'Oh no, why are doing this and why are they changing that?' I would feel the same way about certain things."
"So, just know, if I ever were to dabble in anything, it would be authentic and something that I feel like people would really support," the Black Panther and Sinners star added.
While DC Studios runs independently of Warner Bros. Pictures, it's a little concerning to think about what type of veto power Zaslav has with any DCU projects he might similarly deem "too woke."