Michael B. Jordan Reportedly Among Actors Being Considered To Replace Henry Cavill As Superman

Michael B. Jordan could become the first African-American actor to play Superman, at least that’s according to an article from Deadline. Now that Henry Cavill has hung up his red cape, the search is on for someone to replace him and there are sources who say that Michael B. Jordan is on the list.

According to Deadline, the Black Panther actor is being considered because Warner Bros, the studio that makes the DC comics films, is toying with going in a completely different direction with the Superman franchise. However, their focus for the next Superman film and its new star probably won’t be announced for a long time.

Deadline reports that, in the short term, the studio plans to direct its efforts towards the production of the Supergirl movie. There’s also an Aquaman movie coming out this year, so DC fans can also look forward to that.

But Superman isn’t the only role in the DC Universe that’s being recast. Ben Affleck is out as Batman after two appearances in the role in Batman vs Superman and Justice League. There are reports that Kit Harington of Game Of Thrones fame has been considered for the role, according to Revenge Of The Fans.

The article states that Warner Bros requested concept art of Harington in the iconic bat-suit to determine whether he would look right as Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego. There’s no word yet on whether the studio has moved forward with the casting process with Harington after they saw the digital mockups. But he’s certainly a name that few people would probably expect as a replacement for Affleck’s Batman.

Revenge of The Fans reports that Warner Brothers also requested digital mockups featuring another actor, but they didn’t reveal the name.

If Michael B. Jordan is cast as Superman, it won’t be the first time that he’s jumped from one superhero franchise to another. It also won’t be the first time that he’s been cast in a superhero role that’s been seen as “white.” Jordan was cast as Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch in 2015’s Fantastic Four reboot.

On social media, the response to the casting announcement was resoundingly negative from some quarters who took offense to the fact that the Human Torch would be African-American.

“The Human Torch can’t be black!” one person tweeted, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.

Superman is considered the world’s first comic book superhero and has always been depicted as a Caucasian male. So one can only imagine the response if Michael B. Jordan gets the lead gig in the character’s next solo movie.