We were supposed to get a Black Superman movie. During a 2021 interview with Polygon, author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, who was hired by Warner Bros. to write the film, opened up about his excitement over the opportunity. His greatest hope for what would ultimately a major twist on Superman’s cinematic legacy: that people could “have an experience of their own with the art” and allow his “Superman to have his chance.”

All signs point to Coates’ Superman not having his chance. According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, the studio’s Superman reboot announced in 2021, which was to be produced by J.J. Abrams, was dismissed by WB CEO David Zaslav in 2022 for the movie’s racial themes. According to anonymous insiders, James Gunn, who now runs DC Studios for WB, still thinks the movie could happen, although Coates’ film wasn’t part of his initial DCU slate announcement.

Coates’ vision for the film reportedly revolved around a reimagined Kal-El and was set during America’s Civil Rights era, which would put him alongside real-life heroes like Dorothy Height, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King Jr., Daisy Bates, and Malcolm X. However, to “fix” a derailed and misguided DC that

© Polygon