It’s a bird…It’s a plane…no, It’s black Superman. Dwayne Johnson is the latest Hollywood megastar to champion more diversity in superhero movies and wants a black actor to suit up as Clark Kent and his spandex-wearing alter ego.
While Hollywood has typically cast the likes of Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, Brandon Routh, and Henry Cavill as the square-jawed cornerstone of DC, there’s a growing number of fans who want to see a black Superman.
Speaking to Variety at the premiere of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Johnson explained why he thinks a black Superman is just around the corner.
The 47-year-old reiterated: “I think as everything builds and grows, and you take the temperament of society and what’s happening, and I think here in Hollywood — especially with franchises and characters and publicly traded companies who are sensitive to that kind of thing — so yeah, I think they’re doing a great job.”
Giving a wink, The Rock added, “And maybe one day we will see a black Superman. You’re looking at him.”
Elsewhere, Johnson is still tipped to suit up as Black Adam in Warner Bros.’ rebranded Worlds of DC. Speaking about the studio diversifying its DC slate, there are rumours that Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey will feature the franchise’s first openly gay character.
Ewan McGregor will play the movie’s big bad as Roman Sionis. For those unfamiliar with the comics, Sionis is a legendary Batman rogue who’s better known as Black Mask. Now, reports suggest Black Mask will be gay in Birds of Prey.
According to We Got This Covered, Sionis will be “obviously gay”. Get ready for a few raised eyebrows though. The site claims that Birds of Prey won’t actually confirm the character’s sexuality, simply imply it. Wow, that sounds like a charming bit of Queerbaiting right there.
The article states “the sexual tension between him and fellow villain Victor Zsasz will be palpable and the way he acts in general makes it pretty clear that he’s gay.” While fans have been calling for a gay character in the DCEU since Zack Snyder started the franchise with Man of Steel, stating a character is homosexual because of the ‘way they act’ isn’t exactly a step in the right direction.
It’s important to remember that a black Superman isn’t that out there. In DC comics’ Elseworlds, the character Calvin Ellis is Earth-23’s version of Superman. Based on Barack Obama, the character has proved popular among comic book fans.
In the past, Michael B. Jordan has been linked to the iconic role of Superman. After Justice League‘s box office bombing and Cavill seemingly stepping away from playing the Man of Steel, several outlets claimed the Black Panther star would be taking over. Who knows, maybe Johnson knows something the rest of us don’t?