Michael B. Jordan Developing His Own Black Superman Series About Val-Zod

Michael B. Jordan is reportedly developing a Superman limited series for HBO Max revolving around Val-Zod, a Black Superman from Earth 2. Despite being one of DC’s most recognizable characters, Warner Bros. has not figured out how they want to use Superman on the big screen moving forward. Henry Cavill’s days of playing Kal-El might be behind him, and all indications pointed to J.J. Abrams being the one to help reinvent Superman for the modern age.

The thought of a new live-action Superman prompted plenty of discussions about what WB and DC should do differently. One suggestion that gained a lot of support was the idea of an actor of color playing Superman next. Abrams and the studios appeared to hear this with reports surfacing that the rumored Superman reboot will see a Black actor play Clark Kent. This led to plenty of fan-castings for Michael B. Jordan to play the Kryptonian hero next. He’s discussed Superman projects with WB and DC in the past, but now it appears he is making his own.

According to a report from Collider, Michael B. Jordan’s production company Outlier Society is developing a new Superman project for HBO Max. A script is reportedly already being written by an unknown writer, and it focuses on the Val-Zod version of Superman. Jordan’s Black Superman project will reportedly be a limited series for Warner Bros.’ streaming service. Jordan reportedly is only attached to produce at this stage, as he has not decided if he’ll be the one to play Val-Zod.

Val-Zod is a Kryptonian from Earth 2 in the pages of DC Comics who escaped from the planet with Kal-El and Kara Zor-El before its destruction. He remained hidden from humanity for several years until the Wonders, Earth 2’s version of the Justice League, came looking for him to help take down what appeared to be a brainwashed Superman. Val-Zod grew into his abilities from there and fought Darkseid’s Superman clone named Brutaal. Val-Zod was created by Tom Taylor, Nicola Scott, and Robson Rocha and made his comics debut in 2014.

Although Val-Zod has some similarities to Kal-El’s core values and origin, he is a unique character that has a lot of potential for a live-action adaptation. It will now be fascinating to see how Michael B. Jordan’s Val-Zod Superman limited series develops from here. He is one of Hollywood’s busiest stars and is just now beginning to experiment with directing with Creed III. Jordan’s schedule might prove to be too busy to play Val-Zod for the HBO Max series if it moves forward quickly. But, since it is not yet clear how big of a priority the series is, there’s always the chance this is another DC project announced that is never released. Hopefully, that isn’t what happens with Michael B. Jordan’s Superman limited series though.