The reception to the news that J.J. Abrams was rebooting Superman for Warner Bros. could be generously described as tepid, with folks more concerned about Henry Cavill’s future than they are with the Kryptonian’s next standalone outing featuring a new actor under the cape. The Bad Robot head honcho’s stock is pretty low with fans of big name properties given the underwhelming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and there are more than a few people skeptical about the idea of Abrams getting his hands on the Big Blue Boy Scout.
While nothing has been officially confirmed about the project since it was first announced, most of us are operating under the assumption that Abrams and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates will cast a black actor to headline the next Superman blockbuster. Naturally, Michael B. Jordan instantly became the frontrunner given his admission in the past that he’d spoken to the studio about potentially suiting up, while either Calvin Ellis or Val-Zod are expected to assume the mantle based on comic book history.
However, a new rumor claims that Abrams will create an entirely new character to be the next big screen Superman, which in all honesty sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Fans still aren’t convinced about the fresh spin on the superhero in the first place, and abandoning the entirety of DC canon would no doubt only increase the volume of discontent.
It’s impossible to imagine any major studio making a Batman or Spider-Man movie and inventing somebody else to play the title role, and while DC have previous experience doing something similar with Joker‘s Arthur Fleck, the Clown Prince of Crime’s backstory has always been left intentionally vague, so it at least made sense in relation to the character. But crafting a brand new Superman from the ground up sounds risky at best and foolish at worst.
