Static Shock Movie In Development At DC Films

Prolific filmmaker Reginald Hudlin has confirmed that a live-action Static Shock movie is in development. The electrifying combatant Static Shock hails from its eponymous publications by Milestone Comics. Milestone Media was founded by a group of African-American artists including Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle in 1993 with the mandate of addressing the underrepresentation of racial minorities in superhero franchises. The company’s comics were published and distributed by DC, and of them all, one title, in particular, Static Shock was the most successful.

Static Shock, colloquially known as Virgil Ovid Hawkins, is a character from Milestone Media’s comics series. Although he is born ordinary, Hawkins mutates into a metahuman following a chemical container explosion that exposes him to radioactive material. The incident fosters in Hawkins, the ability to engineer, absorb, and administer electricity and electromagnetism. Then with the aid of his newfound powers, the jolting superhero sets off to combat crime in the city of Dakota, where he is joined by his brainiac friend Rick Stone. Static’s original comics ran for 45 issues and were later compiled in a graphic novel and a miniseries. The comics were also rendered into an animated TV-show by Warner Bros, and there were also plans for an animated Static Shock feature which were later scrapped.

During a surprise panel at the DC FanDome, Hudlin revealed that there have been serious discussions about a Static Shock live-action movie at WarnerBros. Hudlin did not mention if any actors or crew members had been attached to the film, but he suggested that he himself would pioneer the initiative of expanding the Milestone franchise and its characters “into new media.” For now, however, it has only been confirmed that the new Static Shock live-action will be a theatrical film. During the panel, Phil LaMarr, who had voiced Static Shock in the 2000s animated series, jokingly suggested a prospective director and lead saying, “For that movie, talk to Scorsese for me, would you? They got the technology. I could play 14.”

Milestone Media’s resurgence will, however, not kick off with a Static Shock movie. As Hudlin stated during the panel, the Milestone revival will begin in February 2021, right in time for Black History Month, with a new digital Static comic series. This will be followed by an original Static graphic novel from Hudlin and artist Kyle Baker. Subsequently, a new comic for superhero duo Icon and Rocket will also be released. Hudlin also plans to explore new mediums for Milestone characters, and he is particularly interested in podcasts. With all that in mind, a Static Shock movie is likely the project fans are most excited for.

Milestone Media had taken the initiative to introduce black leads into mainstream superhero entertainment when the notion was still an alien concept. The scope of their efforts was, however, limited due to a lack of acceptance of diversity. But now that the Black Lives Matter movement has enabled new avenues for minority representation in entertainment, a big-screen revival of Static Shock seems quite timely and relevant.