Recasting Every Major Role In The DCEU
5. Michael B. Jordan As Superman / Calvin Ellis
What Happened?
Rumours have been doing the rounds ever since the release of Justice League that Henry Cavill won't be reprising his role as Superman, and though Cavill insists he does want to play the part once again, each passing week makes it less likely that it's ever going to happen.
Despite Cavill's solid work in the role, he carries with him the baggage of Snyder's unpopular interpretation of the character, and even his sunnier re-emergence in Justice League wasn't enough to convince people to, you know, actually go see the movie.
The Recast
Recasting Superman is a thankless task because, like recasting James Bond or indeed Batman, no matter who you pick, the fanbase is going to be sharply divided. They're not Christopher Reeve, and they're never going to be.
But given how egregiously the DCEU has failed Superman, it presents Warner Bros. with a unique opportunity to give audiences a very different Superman.
April fools articles have already been teasing the prospect of Michael B. Jordan taking over the Man of Steel, but what about if he actually did?
In addition to having an enviable physique, strong relations with Warner Bros. via the Creed franchise and being a huge fan of comic books, he's already stated on the record that he's flattered to even be considered for Superman.
And while Jordan could play Clark Kent, wouldn't it be so, so much more interesting to see him cast in the contemporary - and, yes, black - Calvin Ellis version of the superhero?
There will be inevitable hand-wringing from racists everywhere that a black Superman is an affront, but in an age where Black Panther almost grossed more at the box office than Batman v Superman and Justice League combined, and the Miles Morales version of Spider-Man went down a treat in Into the Spider-Verse, are we really not "ready" for a black cinematic reinvention of Superman?
It would be a subversive and immediate way to differentiate this Superman from the Cavill version, and given Jordan's popularity across demographics, it's easy to imagine him smashing the role out of the park.