Warner Bros. Opposes “Black Superman”; DC Prepares for New “Justice League” Film
According to Cinemadrame News Agency, The Wall Street Journal has revealed the controversies and risks surrounding the production of “Superman,” written, directed, and produced by James Gunn, in a report titled “Saving a Studio? Sounds Like a Job for Superman!”
The report states that David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, three years ago opposed a proposal to produce a film written by Ta-Nehisi Coates about a Black Superman. The studio had even considered hiring an African-American director, with rumors at the time of negotiations with Barry Jenkins and Ryan Coogler.
The Wall Street Journal writes that Zaslav personally canceled this project, deeming it “too woke.” Had that film been greenlit, it would have been released in 2025 and might have faced a similar fate to Disney’s “Snow White,” which was overshadowed by racial debates and underperformed at the box office. Nevertheless, Warner Bros. still owns Coates’ screenplay and might retrieve it from the archives in the coming years.
Other parts of the report indicate that James Gunn is exploring television spin-offs for the characters Mister Terrific and Jimmy Olsen, and that DC Studios aims to set the stage for a new “Justice League” film. The studio currently intends to release two live-action films, several live-action television series, and one animated series each year.
