Acclaimed author Ta-Nehisi Coates to write next 'Superman' film

This looks like a job for Superman.

Actually, no—Ta-Nehisi Coates is the only man for this job.

Friday morning, Deadline's Anthony D'Alessandro confirmed that Coates will write the next film in the Superman franchise under J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions. 

"According to sources, the project is being set up as a Black Superman story," The Hollywood Reporter's Aaron Couch and Borys Kit separately reported. "This is something that the studio has been trying to wrap its head around for months, if not a year or two. Michael B. Jordan tried to develop a Black Superman project when he first arrived at the studio with his deal in 2019, but that did not go very far at the time, according to sources. It is possible that the studio could return to him to star down the line."

Coates initially provided an exclusive statement to Shadow and Act: To be invited into the DC Extended Universe by Warner Bros., DC Films and Bad Robot is an honor. I look forward to meaningfully adding to the legacy of America's most iconic mythic hero."

Coates previously fulfilled his "childhood dream of writing comics" by writing Black Panther and Captain America series for Marvel Comics. 

The former Atlantic correspondent's most transcendent work as an author have been non-fiction, however. He published a memoir titled The Beautiful Struggle in 2008, followed by No. 1 New York Times' bestseller Between the World and Me (2015), which won the National Book Award, and We Were Eight Years in Power (2017). Coates' debut novel, The Water Dancer, arrived in 2019, and Oprah Winfrey was so moved by the story that she partnered with Brad Pitt to adapt it for MGM.

Coates' script will mark the first time Clark Kent graces the big screen since 2017's Justice League, where Henry Cavill portrayed Superman. Cavill also starred in Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).