Michael B. Jordan Says If He Played Superman It Would Be Authentic To Comics

PA/Warner Bros.

Michael B. Jordan is no stranger to the superhero movie world. So, it’s unsurprising he holds the genre with some reverence: if he’s going to play Superman, it’ll be ‘authentic’. 

The Creed star exploded into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Black Panther, playing the villainous Killmonger (with a performance that stripped away the hammy comicbook foe tropes).

Since hitting stratospheric fame in major blockbusters, he’s been assigned to a number of rumours, from the Blade reboot to The Matrix 4 as a prospective ‘young Morpheus’. But there’s one idea people won’t forget: Jordan as Superman.

Marvel Studios

The red cape was last donned by Henry Cavill in the DCEU across three films: Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.

Alas, the critical and box office results from those movies weren’t particularly kind, forcing DC to reconsider their approach away from cloning the MCU. Fortunately, with the likes of Aquaman and Joker, Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com, told Variety that the studio is on the upswing.

Warner Bros.

In a bid to try and solve their Superman problem and figure out what to do with the hero, Warner Bros. met with Jordan earlier this year – where he pitched a new idea for the character.

While the meeting allegedly went well, Jordan reportedly has no plans to attach himself to the project as it’s several years away from filming (it’s yet to find a number of key elements, like a script, star or director).

However, in a recent interview with MTV – while promoting Just Mercy with Jamie Foxx – he commented on the rumours, saying if he was going to play Superman, it’d have to be ‘done the right way’.

Jordan said: 

Honestly, I’ve been rumored to play Morpheus, to Superman, to Duck Tales reboot, to Power Rangers, and everything in between. So it’s like I’m kinda used to the rumors I’m playing something. But, anything that I do dive into has gotta be done the right way. It has to be full of authenticity.

I’m a fan of comic books, you know? I understand, you know, the fans being upset at ‘Oh now, why are they doing this and why are they changing that?’ I would feel the same way about certain things. So just know, if I ever were to dabble in anything, it would be authentic and something that I feel like people would really support.

Time will tell if Jordan becomes the son of Jor-El on the big screen. However, Cavill recently told Men’s Health that he’s not done with the character: ‘The cape is in the closet, it’s still mine.’

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Cameron Frew

After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.