After storming the MCU in the role of Erik Killmonger, Michael B. Jordan has set his sights on the DCEU. The actor has boarded the live-action Static Shock movie project as a producer alongside Reginald Hudlin. Jordan will be producing the film under his Warner-based banner, Outlier Society. The actor expressed his enthusiasm for the project:
“I’m proud to be a part of building a new universe centered around black superheroes; our community deserves that. Outlier Society is committed to bringing to life diverse comic book content across all platforms and we are excited to partner with Reggie and Warner Bros on this initial step.”
The character of Static aka Virgil Ovid Hawkins first appeared in 1993’s graphic novel series Static no. 1 via Milestone Comics. Created by a group of artists of color and distributed by DC, Milestone’s aim was to introduce more diverse heroes and characters into the comics world. From the start, Static was the breakout star of the stable of characters created by Milestone, and continued to enjoy popularity after the Milestone imprint was discontinued.
Static then made the jump to the official DC Comics universe, using his electromagnetism-based powers to establish his name in the superhero world, and joining the Teen Titans at one point. A Static Shock animated series aired in the early 2000s for four seasons. The boost in the character’s profile prompted Justice League Unlimited showrunners to officially include Static in one of their crossover episodes.
News of a Static Shock movie in development was confirmed a few weeks ago during the DC FanDome event by Hudlin. Since then, the internet fandom behind the popular superhero has been abuzz with rumors of casting choices and alleged storylines. John Boyega was a popular favorite among fans to play the role of Static, but the actor shot down the fan-casting by saying he was too old for the part.
In most iterations of the character, Static is portrayed as an African-American teenager from a poor neighborhood, who gains powers after being exposed to a radioactive chemical. The similarities to Spider-Man were deliberate on the part of Static’s creators, since they wanted to put their own spin on the young, loner superhero archetype.
Due to the similarities in their powers, Static has often been confused with DC’s Black Lightning, another Black superhero with lightning-based powers. But the two are not related in any way. While the latter had his own CW show, there were hints of Static joining the cast of Black Lightning for a guest appearance. But those plans will probably be scrapped now that the character is gearing up for his own live-action movie.
With the right treatment, Static can prove to be for the DCEU what Spider-Man is for the MCU, a young hero who can appeal to the next generation of comic book movie fans. No casting has been announced for Static Shock yet, so we will have to wait and see which young actor gets to don the mantle of Static in the coming months. This news comes from The Hollywood Reporter.