The news that J.J. Abrams is rebooting Superman for Warner Bros., which broke in late February, has continued to be a huge source of fascination for fans, with various reports following over the past couple of months which may reveal more about what the former Star Wars director has planned for the Man of Steel. One thing that seems pretty certain by this point is that the movie won’t star Clark Kent but will feature an African-American version of the Big Blue Boy Scout.
A common suggestion for who this could be is Calvin Ellis, the Superman of Earth-23 in the comics, and according to scooper Mikey Sutton of Geekosity, this is exactly who Abrams’ film will star. Sutton claims that WB might get the director to helm a Justice League reboot, too, and if he does, his Supes movie would sow the seeds for it. In his report about this, Sutton also reaffirms that the top contender for Abrams’ choice of protagonist is Ellis, who comic book readers will know was inspired by Barack Obama.
Created in 2009 by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnk, Ellis is not just the Superman of his Earth but also the President of the United States. He was a very timely character back in the day, given his creation during the Obama administration, but would he be a good choice to lead his own movie in the 2020s?
Well, Michael B. Jordan has revealed he’d want to play him, and it’s become clear that he’s the favorite to headline Abrams’ reboot. That said, other intel has pointed to it being based around a different character, as Giant Freakin Robot’s claimed that writer Ta-Nehisi Coates has devised a completely original hero for the screen. There’s some conflicting information going around at the moment, then, which may tell us that WB is still formulating their plans for Abrams’ reboot. Whichever character does end up inhabiting the cape and cowl next, though, it sounds like we can prepare for a bold, revisionist Superman movie.
