Michael B. Jordan Says Static Shock Movie Script Draft Currently Being Worked on

Decades after the character first appeared in DC’s Milestone comics imprint and then a hit animated series, Warner Bros. has been developing a feature film based on Static Shock. The property, which is set to be executive produced by Michael B. Jordan, has been rumored for quite some time, but was officially announced at DC FanDome last year. Now, Jordan assures fans that someone is working on a screenplay for the movie, which centers on a Black teen with electrical powers. The character was created by Milestone Comics founders Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle, and first appeared in comics in 1993. McDuffie, who also worked on animated TV and film, was integral to the Static Shock TV series, which aired from 2000 until 2004.

Jordan, who has characterized Static Shock as part of a larger effort to increase Black representation in DC’s superhero films, will star in the upcoming Amazon adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse. As he makes the rounds in support of that film, which drops tomorrow, he has been quizzed repeatedly not just about Static Shock but about his potential involvement with a Superman project set to be written by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

“Right now we have a writer, Randy McKinnon, who’s putting together take and a draft right now,” Jordan told Collider. “As a kid growing up, watching Static Shock, it was something that inspired me. And to have that type of representation at a young age, it was really important to me. And I know it would be important to a lot of other kids today. So to be able to adapt the live-action version of that, I’m really, really excited about. So no real timelines, and I guess no real updates or anything like that. But we’re in the process of building that out. And I can’t wait to have something more to tell you guys later.”

Besides Static Shock, which continues to be the most recognizable of Milestone’s properties, Reginald Hudlin said recently that there are a number of potential TV and film projects in the works based on Milestone characters. Whether that is the same “universe” that Jordan alluded to in the fall, or something different, remains to be seen.

“I’m proud to be a part of building a new universe centered around black superheroes; our community deserves that,” Jordan said back in October. “Outlier Society is committed to bringing to life diverse comic book content across all platforms and we are excited to partner with Reggie and Warner Bros on this initial step.”