Fans were guessing we’d get at least one new movie announcement at DC FanDome and that expectation proved to be correct. One mystery spot on the schedule for Saturday’s virtual event was only labelled as Surprise DC Comics Panel. When it kicked off, we discovered it was for Milestone Comics, the previously defunct DC label dedicated to African-American characters, like Static Shock.
Along with the reveal that Milestone is coming back to the comics world, it was unveiled that a live-action movie is in early development based on arguably the line’s most iconic hero. Filmmaker Reginald Hudlin stated during the panel that there have been “serious conversations” at Warner Bros. about bringing the electro-powered teen to the silver screen in the near future. He also confirmed that it would be a theatrical venture and not something aimed at HBO Max.
Static Shock is the common alter ego of 16-year-old Virgil Hawkins, though he’s technically known as Static in-universe. After being created for the page by Dwayne McDuffie in 1993, he was sprung to mainstream popularity with the fondly remembered Static Shock animated series that ran from 2000-2004, as part of the DC Animated Universe – with Virgil rubbing shoulders with the Justice League a couple of times.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of Static coming to live-action, of course. A movie starring Jaden Smith was rumored a few years ago and Black Lightning showrunner Salim Akil has revealed that he’s tried to get him on The CW show. Clearly, this current project isn’t a done deal as yet, so it’s probably too early to say if it’ll actually happen. But there’s obviously a thirst out there for more of the character, so hopefully that’ll spur WB into action on the Static Shock movie.