DCEU: Why it’s the perfect time for a Black Superman

NEW ORLEANS, LA – JULY 08: Michael B. Jordan speaks onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival on July 8, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)

Michael B. Jordan can handle the heat

This isn’t the first time Michael B. Jordan faced casting backlash. The first time happened when Jordan was cast as Human Torch for the 2015 Fox reboot, Fantastic Four. The announcement was met with a lot of heat and Jordan felt it. He expressed his thoughts in an Entertainment Weekly article where he discussed the negative comments he read, but he went on to say that it didn’t bother him. 

"“It used to bother me, but it doesn’t anymore. I can see everybody’s perspective, and I know I can’t ask the audience to forget 50 years of comic books. But the world is a little more diverse in 2015 than when the Fantastic Four comic first came out in 1961. Plus, if Stan Lee writes an email to my director saying, “You’re good. I’m okay with this,” who am I to go against that?”"

A lot went wrong being the scenes with Fantastic Four, and it showed in the box office numbers. Additionally, both fans and critics agreed that the story was poorly written. On the other hand, Jordan was  Jordan’s defiance against those who use race a reason to bash the casting is why he’s perfect. Whether the studio opts to bring Calvin Ellis to the DCEU or replace Clark Kent doesn’t matter.

Warner Bros. is telling us that the color of Superman’s skin doesn’t dictate the content of his character. In fact, the idea of a live-action depiction of black Superman isn’t unheard of.