Earlier today The Hollywood Reporter announced a slew of black directors both Marvel and DC are looking at for their upcoming projects. Marvel is looking at these directors to helm their Blade film. Blade starring Mahershala Ali has moved production from this September to July 2022. The push for production comes off the studio just hiring Stacy Osei-Kuffour to pen the script. While DC and Warner Brothers look at the same directors for their upcoming Superman reboot from producer JJ Abrams and screenwriter Ta-Nehisi Coates.
The list includes Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II), J.D. Dillard (Sleight), Regina King (One Night in Maimi), and Shaka King (Judas and The Black Messiah). It should be noted that Barry Jenkins is hard at work developing The Lion King II for Disney; while Steven Caple Jr is rebooting the Transformers franchise at this time. Shaka King did bring several awards home for WB with Judas and The Black Messiah.
The report goes onto state that this will be a reimagining of the classic Superman story of Kal-El from an African-American perspective. The film will be a period piece and follow Kal-El from Krypton as he travels to earth and eventually become Superman. A black version of Superman already exists with Calvin Ellis (as compared to Clark Kent). In that story, Kalel is both Superman and President of the United States. He uses Brainiac as a special advisor in his cabinet who also protects his secret identity. It’s unknown if this film will use Clark Kent or Calvin Ellis in the reboot…
Both Blade & Superman reboot has no set release date
