Michael B. Jordan's Black Superman Project Finds Its Writers
A few months back, we heard confirmation that Michael B. Jordan was developing his own Superman project for HBO Max. This is separate from the upcoming Superman film reboot — written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and produced by J.J. Abrams — which will also see a Black actor take on the role of the Man of Steel. Jordan's name had been bandied about as a possible contender for the role, but instead of playing the traditional Kal-El, last son of Krypton, we learned that he would be producing a project centered on Val Zod, another refugee from the same planet who made Earth-2 his home in DC Comics.
Now, comes word that Jordan's Superman project has found its writers. Deadline reports that Darnell Metayer & Josh Peters are set to write "Val Zod" for HBO Max. At present, Metayer & Peters only have two produced IMDb credits to their name: the TV series "BMF" and next year's "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts." According to Deadline, however, they have a number of other projects they've sold or developed, including two pilots, "American Snow" and "Hannibal."
The latter of these, which involves the Carthaginian general Hannibal, and which they wrote for Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions and Endeavor Content, reportedly sold to Apple, with "Creed II" director Steven J. Caple Jr. attached. Caple Jr. is helming "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," so maybe he's the one who connected Metayer & Peters with Jordan (who of course, starred as the titular Creed and is gearing up to direct "Creed III" himself).
Why Val Zod Appeals to Jordan
Metayer & Peters also have a project called "The Nola" lined up at Amazon, with Sam Raimi set to direct, so it would seem their stars are on the rise. As for Jordan, he will produce "Val Zod" through his Outlier Society label, which also has an adaptation of the "The Broken Earth" book trilogy on the docket. It hasn't been confirmed yet if he will star in "Val Zod" himself or if they'll be courting another actor. It's still not quite clear whether "Val Zod" is an HBO Max movie or TV series, either.
Outlier Society is also developing a live-action adaptation of the DC Comic "Static Shock," co-produced by Reginald Hudlin. As an actor, Jordan will next be appearing in the drama "A Journal for Jordan," directed by Denzel Washington.
Part of the appeal of Val Zod for Jordan seems to be that this new super-powered Kryptonian strips away some of the baggage of Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman. An earlier report by Black Nerd Girls indicated that he "has not wanted to engage in conversations about racebending Kal-El for the same reasons many of the fans are pushing back on the current Warner Bros. re-imagined version of Clark Kent."