Amid the storm of Henry Cavill’s alleged departure from Warner Bros. and the DC Extended Universe, rumors began to pop up linking Michael B. Jordan, star of Black Panther and Josh Trank’s terrible Fantastic Four reboot, with the now vacant role of Superman.
First reported by Deadline, we were told that Warner had earmarked Jordan to be their next Big Blue Boy Scout, though it wouldn’t happen for a while yet as it’ll apparently be “several years” before they’re ready to put together another Man of Steel movie. Then again, with the Powers That Be seeming more keen to prioritize the Supergirl origin film that’s now brewing in development, it’s hard to know exactly what they have planned.
In any case, if you were to ask Jordan himself, the star doesn’t seem too into the idea of playing the iconic DC hero. While chatting with Oprah, he was asked about the rumors and while he said he found them flattering, he also mentioned that he would prefer to do something original.
“Just being under that microscope of being picked apart and compared to so many different versions of Superman, I would rather do something original,” said the actor.
Of course, Jordan could just be playing coy here, but his answer certainly makes sense and is a fair concern. Besides, it’s far too early to say for sure if we’re even going to see a new Superman. While many fans have resigned themselves to the idea that Cavill’s gone for good, it’s important to remember that Warner Bros. has still yet to make an official comment on the situation.
Not only that, but back in December, Aquaman star Jason Momoa assured us that Cavill wasn’t done playing Superman, telling Entertainment Tonight that his Justice League co-star is “absolutely not” finished with the franchise and that he “loves the character.” So, clearly there’s much confusion and many conflicting reports regarding the whole thing, but if one thing seems pretty clear, it’s that Michael B. Jordan isn’t terribly eager to play the Man of Steel.