Amidst all the excitement of Ta-Nehisi Coates and JJ Abrams developing a new Superman movie, there was speculation that Black Panther's Michael B. Jordan – who has reportedly met with Warners and DC about the character in the past – might end up finally taking the role. But now, according to Collider, he's actually figuring out his own project about the Val-Zod incarnation of Supes.
The details are fuzzy at this point – all the site was able to find out was that Jordan's Outlier Society production company is working with streaming service HBO Max and that it had hired a writer to work on a script. It's unknown whether it'll be a series or a film, and if Jordan intends to go anywhere near the screen.
Jordan has apparently decided against a race-switched version of the main Superman, preferring to work instead on bringing an alternate to the screen, something for audiences of colour to truly identify with.
Created by Tom Taylor, Nicola Scott and Robson Rocha, Val-Zod is the Superman from Earth 2, where he is one of the last Kryptonians, and the second to assume the mantle of Superman. The character was orphaned after his parents were executed by Krypton's high court, though he was found on Earth 2 by Terry Sloan, who offered the young alien asylum to "protect" him from the outside world.
The next major move for Jordan, however, will be directing Creed III, for which he'll also return to star.